A CRUEL NATION FROM THE NORTH

22 This is what the Lord says:

Look,t an army is coming from a northern land;u

a great nation will be stirred up

from the remote regions of the earth.v

23 They grasp bow and javelin.

They are cruel and show no mercy.w

Their voice roars like the sea,x

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.y