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The Lord Destroyed Jerusalem

2 Look how the Lord in his anger

has brought Jerusalem to shame.

He has thrown down the greatness of Israel

from the sky to the earth;

he did not remember the Temple, his footstool,

on the day of his anger.

The Lord swallowed up without mercy

all the houses of the people of Jacob;

in his anger he pulled down

the strong places of Judah.

He threw her kingdom and its rulers

down to the ground in dishonor.

In his anger he has removed

all the strength of Israel;

he took away his power from Israel

when the enemy came.

He burned against the people of Jacob like a flaming fire

that burns up everything around it.

Like an enemy, he prepared to shoot his bow,

and his hand was against us.

Like an enemy, he killed

all the good-looking people;

he poured out his anger like fire

on the tents of Jerusalem.

The Lord was like an enemy;

he swallowed up Israel.

He swallowed up all her palaces

and destroyed all her strongholds.

He has caused more moaning and groaning

for Judah.

He cut down his Temple like a garden;

he destroyed the meeting place.

The Lord has made Jerusalem forget

the set feasts and Sabbath days.

He has rejected the king and the priest

in his great anger.

The Lord has rejected his altar

and abandoned his Temple.

He has handed over to the enemy

the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces.

Their uproar in the Lord’s Temple

was like that of a feast day.

The Lord planned to destroy

the wall around Jerusalem.

He measured the wall

and did not stop himself from destroying it.

He made the walls and defenses sad;

together they have fallen.

Jerusalem’s gates have fallen to the ground;

he destroyed and smashed the bars of the gates.

Her king and her princes are among the nations.

The teaching of the Lord has stopped,

and the prophets do not have

visions from the Lord.

10  The elders of Jerusalem

sit on the ground in silence.

They throw dust on their heads

and put on rough cloth to show their sadness.

The young women of Jerusalem

bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.

11  My eyes have no more tears,

and I am sick to my stomach.

I feel empty inside,

because my people have been destroyed.

Children and babies are fainting

in the streets of the city.

12  They ask their mothers,

“Where is the grain and wine?”

They faint like wounded soldiers

in the streets of the city

and die in their mothers’ arms.

13  What can I say about you, Jerusalem?

What can I compare you to?

What can I say you are like?

How can I comfort you, Jerusalem?

Your ruin is as deep as the sea.

No one can heal you.

14  Your prophets saw visions,

but they were false and worth nothing.

They did not point out your sins

to keep you from being captured.

They preached what was false

and led you wrongly.

15  All who pass by on the road

clap their hands at you;

they make fun of Jerusalem

and shake their heads.

They ask, “Is this the city that people called

the most beautiful city,

the happiest place on earth?”

16  All your enemies open their mouths

to speak against you.

They make fun and grind their teeth in anger.

They say, “We have swallowed you up.

This is the day we were waiting for!

We have finally seen it happen.”

17  The Lord has done what he planned;

he has kept his word

that he commanded long ago.

He has destroyed without mercy,

and he has let your enemies laugh at you.

He has strengthened your enemies.

18  The people cry out to the Lord.

Wall of Jerusalem,

let your tears flow

like a river day and night.

Do not stop

or let your eyes rest.

19  Get up, cry out in the night,

even as the night begins.

Pour out your heart like water

in prayer to the Lord.

Lift up your hands in prayer to him

for the life of your children

who are fainting with hunger

on every street corner.

20  Jerusalem says: “Look, Lord, and see

to whom you have done this.

Women eat their own babies,

the children they have cared for.

Priests and prophets are killed

in the Temple of the Lord.

21  “People young and old

lie outside on the ground.

My young women and young men

have been killed by the sword.

You killed them on the day of your anger;

you killed them without mercy.

22  “You invited terrors to come against me on every side,

as if you were inviting them to a feast.

No one escaped or remained alive

on the day of the Lord’s anger.

My enemy has killed

those I cared for and brought up.”

NCV

About New Century Version

The New Century Version is one of the easiest translations of the Bible to understand. It accurately communicates the messages found in the original languages of biblical manuscripts, using the kind of terms you use every day. It uses contemporary language with down-to-earth vocabulary. The end result is a fresh, straightforward, and strong translations of God’s truth; and it is something you can connect with in your daily life. You’ll find it easier to experience God's Word as it truly is—absolutely clear, powerfully alive, and completely life-changing.

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Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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