Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

^1 (A) Our God, foreign nations
    have taken your land,
    disgraced your temple,
    and left Jerusalem in ruins.
² They have fed the bodies
of your servants
    to flesh-eating birds;
your loyal people are food
    for savage animals.
³ All Jerusalem is covered
    with their blood,
and there is no one left
    to bury them.
⁴ Every nation around us
    sneers and makes fun.

¹⁴ The people of Judah
    say to each other,
“What are we waiting for?
Let's run to a town with walls
    and die there.
We rebelled against the Lord,
and we were sentenced to die
    by drinking poison.
¹⁵ We had hoped for peace
and a time of healing,
    but all we got was terror.
¹⁶ Our enemies have reached
    the town of Dan in the north,
and the snorting of their horses
    makes us tremble with fear.
The enemy will destroy Jerusalem
and our entire nation.
    No one will survive.”

² I wish I could go into the desert
    and find a hiding place
from all who are treacherous
    and unfaithful to God.

Lies come from the mouths
of my people,
    like arrows from a bow.
With each dishonest deed
    their power increases,
and not one of them will admit
    that I am God.

¹⁰ I weep for the pastureland
    in the hill country.
It's so barren and scorched
    that no one travels there.
No cattle can be found there,
and birds and wild animals
    have all disappeared.