18  The Lord made it known to me and I knew;

then you showed me their deeds.

19  But I was ⁱlike a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

I did not know it was ^jagainst me

they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

let us ^kcut him off from the land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20  But, ^lO Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,

who ^mtests the heart and the mind,

let me see your ⁿvengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

12  Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

^qWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

2  You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

you are ^rnear in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3  But ^syou, O Lord, know me;

you see me, and test my heart toward you.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

4  How long will the land ^tmourn

and the grass of every field wither?

For the evil of those who dwell in it

the beasts and the ^ubirds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

5  “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

6  For even your brothers and the house of your father,

even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7  “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned my heritage;

I have given the beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  My heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9  Is my heritage to me like a hyena’s lair?

Are the birds of prey against her all around?

Go, assemble all the wild beasts;

^vbring them to devour.

10  Many ^wshepherds have destroyed my ^xvineyard;

they have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11  They have made it a desolation;

desolate, it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

but ^yno man lays it to heart.

12  Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come,

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

13  They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their¹ harvests

because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

15  Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16  Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and while you ^glook for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it deep darkness.

17  But if you will not listen,

my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with ^htears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18  Say to the king and the ⁱqueen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for your beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19  The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20  “Lift up your eyes and see

those who come from the ^jnorth.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21  What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

Will not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22  And if you say in your heart,

^k‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that ^lyour skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin

or the leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24  I will scatter you¹ like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25  This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because you have ^mforgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26  I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27  I have seen your abominations,

your adulteries and ⁿneighings, your lewd whorings,

on the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be before you are made clean?”

2  “Judah mourns,

and her gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3  Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ashamed and confounded

and cover their heads.

4  Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is no rain on the land,

^othe farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5  Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6  The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7  “Though our iniquities ^ptestify against us,

act, O Lord, ^qfor your name’s sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

8  O you ^rhope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9  Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are ^sin the midst of us,

and we are ^tcalled by your name;

do not leave us.”

10  Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore ^uthe Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

17  “You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with ^dtears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

18  If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19  ^eHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

^fWe looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20  We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

^gand the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

21  Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

^hremember and do not break your covenant with us.

22  Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for you do all these things.

^j“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,

and those who are for the sword, to the sword;

those who are for famine, to famine,

and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

5  ⁿ“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,

or who will grieve for you?

Who will turn aside

to ask about your welfare?

6  You have rejected me, declares the Lord;

you keep going ^obackward,

so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—

I am weary of relenting.

7  I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork

in the gates of the land;

I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;

they did not turn from their ways.

8  I have made their widows more in number

than the sand of the seas;

I have brought against the mothers of young men

a destroyer ^pat noonday;

I have made anguish and terror

fall upon them suddenly.

9  ^qShe who bore seven has grown feeble;

she has fainted away;

^rher sun went down while it was yet day;

she has been shamed and disgraced.

And the rest of them I will give to the sword

before their enemies,

declares the Lord.”

15  O Lord, ^wyou know;

remember me and visit me,

and take ^xvengeance for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance take me not away;

know that for your sake I bear reproach.

16  Your words were found, ^yand I ate them,

and your words became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart,

for I am called by your name,

O Lord, God of hosts.

17  I did not sit in the company of revelers,

nor did I rejoice;

I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,

for you had filled me with indignation.

18  Why is my pain unceasing,

my wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

Will you be to me ^zlike a deceitful brook,

like waters that fail?

19  Therefore thus says the Lord:

“If you return, I will restore you,

and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,

you shall be as my mouth.

They shall turn to you,

but you shall not turn to them.

20  And I will make you to this people

a fortified ^awall of bronze;

they will fight against you,

but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am ^bwith you

to save you and deliver you,

declares the Lord.

21  I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,

and ^credeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”