12  ^mRighteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

ⁿWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all ^owho are treacherous thrive?

2  You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

^pyou are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3  ^qBut you, O Lord, know me;

^ryou see me, and test my heart toward you.

^sPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for ^tthe day of slaughter.

4  ^uHow long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

^vFor the evil of those who dwell in it

^wthe beasts and the birds 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 ^xthe thicket of the Jordan?

6  For ^yeven your brothers and the house of your father,

^oeven they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

^zdo not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7  “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned ^amy heritage;

I have given ^bthe beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  ^aMy 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 ^amy heritage to me like ^ca hyena’s lair?

Are the ^cbirds of prey against her all around?

Go, ^dassemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10  Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

^ethey have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11  They have made it a desolation;

desolate, ^uit mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

^fbut no 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  ^gThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

^hthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their¹ harvests

ⁱbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

15  Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16  ^fGive glory to the Lord your God

^gbefore he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and ^gwhile you look for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it ^hdeep darkness.

17  But if you will not listen,

ⁱmy soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18  Say to ^jthe king and ^jthe queen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for ^kyour beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19  ^lThe 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 ^mand see

those who come from the north.

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?

ⁿWill not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22  And if you say in your heart,

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

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that ^pyour skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23  ^qCan the Ethiopian change his skin

or ^qthe leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24  I will scatter you^{1 r}like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25  ^sThis is your lot,

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

because ^tyou have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26  ^pI myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27  I have seen ^uyour abominations,

your adulteries and ^vneighings, your lewd whorings,

^won the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be ^xbefore you are made clean?”

2  ^z“Judah mourns,

and ^aher gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and ^bthe 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 ^cashamed and confounded

and ^dcover their heads.

4  Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is ^eno rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5  Even ^fthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6  ^gThe 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 testify against us,

act, O Lord, ^hfor your name’s sake;

ⁱfor our backslidings are many;

^jwe have sinned against you.

8  ^kO you hope 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,

^llike a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet ^myou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and ⁿwe are called by your name;

^odo not leave us.”

10  Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

^ptherefore the Lord does not accept them;

^qnow he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

17  “You shall say to them this word:

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

and let them not cease,

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

^dwith a very grievous blow.

18  ^eIf I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

^eAnd if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

^fFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19  ^gHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

^hso that there is no healing for us?

ⁱWe looked for peace, but no good came;

ⁱfor a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20  ^jWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

^jfor we have sinned against you.

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

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

^lremember and do not break your covenant with us.

22  Are there any among ^mthe false gods of the nations ⁿthat can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

^ofor you do all these things.

^t“‘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  ^z“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,

^zor who will grieve for you?

Who will turn aside

to ask about your welfare?

6  ^aYou have rejected me, declares the Lord;

^byou keep going backward,

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

^cI am weary of relenting.

7  ^dI have winnowed them with ^ea winnowing fork

in the gates of the land;

I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;

^fthey did not turn from their ways.

8  I have made their widows more in number

than ^gthe sand of the seas;

I have brought against the mothers of young men

a destroyer at noonday;

I have made anguish and terror

fall upon them suddenly.

9  ^hShe who bore seven has grown feeble;

ⁱshe has fainted away;

^jher 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  ^rO Lord, you know;

^sremember me and visit me,

^stand take vengeance for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance take me not away;

^uknow that ^vfor your sake I bear reproach.

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

and ^xyour words became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart,

^yfor I am called by your name,

O Lord, God of hosts.

17  ^zI did not sit in the company of revelers,

nor did I rejoice;

^aI sat alone, because your hand was upon me,

for you had filled me with indignation.

18  Why is my pain unceasing,

^bmy wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

Will you be to me ^clike a deceitful brook,

like waters that fail?

19  Therefore thus says the Lord:

^d“If you return, I will restore you,

and you shall ^estand 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  ^fAnd I will make you to this people

a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you,

^gbut they shall not prevail over you,

^hfor I am with you

to save you and deliver you,

declares the Lord.

21  ^gI will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,

and redeem you from the grasp of ⁱthe ruthless.”

19  ^lO Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

^mmy refuge in the day of trouble,

ⁿto you shall the nations come

from the ends of the earth and say:

“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,

^oworthless things in which there is no profit.

20  Can man make for himself ^pgods?

Such are not gods!”