Jeremiah 4:13–22

¹³Look! He comes up like clouds,

his chariots like the whirlwind;

his horses are swifter than eagles—

woe to us, for we are ruined!^*

¹⁴O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness

so that you may be saved.

How long shall your evil schemes

lodge within you?^*

¹⁵For a voice declares from Dan

and proclaims disaster from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶Tell the nations, “Here they are!”

Proclaim against Jerusalem,

“Besiegers come from a distant land;

they shout against the cities of Judah.^*

¹⁷They have closed in around her like watchers of a field

because she has rebelled against me,

says the Lord.^*

¹⁸Your ways and your doings

have brought this upon you.

This is your doom; how bitter it is!

It has reached your very heart.”^*

Sorrow for a Doomed Nation

¹⁹My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!

Oh, the walls of my heart!

My heart is beating wildly;

I cannot keep silent,

for I^o hear the sound of the trumpet,

the alarm of war.^*

²⁰Disaster overtakes disaster;

the whole land is laid waste.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my curtains in a moment.^*

²¹How long must I see the standard

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For my people are foolish;

they do not know me;

they are stupid children;

they have no understanding.

They are skilled in doing evil

but do not know how to do good.”^*