¹And the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my inclination would not be towards this people. Send them away from me and let them depart. ²And it will come to pass, if they say to you, ‘Where are we to depart to?’ that you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

«He who is destined for death,

To death;

And he who is destined for the sword,

To the sword;

And he who is destined for famine,

To famine;

And he who is destined for captivity,

To captivity.» ’

³And I will visit them in four ways, says the Lord, with the sword to kill, and with dogs to drag them away, and with birds of the sky and with wild animals to devour and ravage. ⁴And I will make them a target of terror to all the kingdoms of the world, on account of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵For who will have compassion on you, Jerusalem,

And who will console you,

And who will turn aside

To ask how you are?

⁶You have forsaken me,

Says the Lord,

You are going backwards,

And I will stretch my hand out over you,

And I will ravage you.

I am weary of showing compassion.

⁷And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan.

At the gates of the land,

I will bereave them of children;

I will cause my people to perish.

They have not turned back from their ways.

⁸Their widows are more numerous,

Let me tell you,

Than the sand of the seas.

I have brought to them

– Against the mother of a young man –

A plunderer at noon.

I have made fear and terrors descend on her suddenly.

⁹One who has given birth to seven is languishing;

She has breathed her last.

Her sun has set

While it is still day.

She has been put to shame

And has been put to the blush.

And I will deliver the rest of them to the sword before their enemies,

Says the Lord.”

¹⁰Woe is me, my mother,

Because you gave birth to me,

A man of contention and a man of dispute with the whole of the land.

I have not lent at interest,

Nor have others lent at interest to me.

Yet they all curse me.

¹¹The Lord said,

“I will certainly set you free

For what is right;

I will certainly make the enemy plead with you

In a time of trouble

And in a time of distress.”

¹²“Does iron break iron,

From the north?

Or copper?

¹³I will make your wealth and your treasures spoil without a price,

And this for all your sins

And in all your territories.”

¹⁴“And I will cause your enemies to pass through a land

Which you are not acquainted with.”

“For a fire has been kindled in my anger;

It will burn against you.”

¹⁵You know, O Lord;

Remember me and visit me and avenge me

Of those who pursue me.

Do not take me in persistence of your anger;

Be aware that I have borne reproach for your sake.

¹⁶Your words were found,

And I absorbed them,

And your word was a joy to me

And gladness to my heart,

For I am called after your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

¹⁷I have not sat in the company of the merry-makers and exulted.

I have sat alone because of your hand,

For you have filled me with indignation.

¹⁸Why is my pain perpetual

And my wound incurable?

It refuses to heal.

Will it really be a delusion of mine

Like untrustworthy waters?

¹⁹That is why this is what the Lord says:

“If you return,

I will restore you,

And you will stand before me.

And if you utter honoured words

Rather than base ones,

You will be like my mouth

– They will return to you.

But do not you go back on them.

²⁰And I will make you a reinforced wall of copper to this people,

And when men fight against you,

They will not prevail over you,

For I am with you to save you

And to deliver you,

Says the Lord.

²¹And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

And I will redeem you from the grip of the violent.”