Lament over Judah’s Devastation

My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is pounding and throbbing within me; I cannot be silent, For you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.

Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is; then walk in it, And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

But if you will not listen and obey, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And flow with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

“She who has borne seven [sons] languishes; She has breathed out her soul. Her sun has set while it was still day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will hand over [the rest of] the survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” says the Lord.

“I will fully satisfy the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” says the Lord.

For I [fully] satisfy the weary soul, and I replenish every languishing and sorrowful person.”

I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

so none of the survivors from the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to live there will survive, even though they lift up their souls in longing to return to the land of Judah, [the place] to which they long to return to live; none will return except a few refugees.’”

And I will bring Israel [home] again to his pasture and he will graze on [the most fertile lands of] Carmel [in the west] and Bashan [in the east], and his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.