A Cruel Nation from the North

22 This is what the Lord says:

Look,(A) an army is coming from a northern land;(B)
a great nation will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.(C)
23 They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.(D)
Their voice roars like the sea,(E)
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.

24 We have heard about it,
and our hands have become weak.
Distress has seized us—
pain, like a woman in labor.(F)
25 Don’t go out to the fields;
don’t walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.(G)

26 My dear[a] people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.(H)
Mourn as you would for an only son,(I)
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer(J) will come on us.(K)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 6:26 Lit Daughter of my

Panic-stricken Zion

22 The Lord proclaims:
An army is on the move
        from the northern regions;
    a great nation is roused
        from the ends of the earth.
23 Equipped with bow and spear,
    they are cruel;
    they show no mercy.
Their horsemen sound
    like the roaring sea,
        arrayed in battle formation
        against you, Daughter Zion.
24 We have heard reports of them
    and are panic-stricken;
    distress overwhelms us,
        pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Don’t go out into the field!
    Don’t walk on the road!
        The enemies’ sword
            terrorizes at every turn.
26 My people,
    put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes;
    weep and wail as for an only child,
        because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us.

Read full chapter