Daily Bread

⁷ A lion^(G) has come out of his lair;^(H)
    a destroyer^(I) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste^(J) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(K)
    without inhabitant.
⁸ So put on sackcloth,^(L)
    lament^(M) and wail,
for the fierce anger^(N) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

⁹ “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,^(O)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”^(P)

¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,^(V)
    his chariots^(W) come like a whirlwind,^(X)
his horses^(Y) are swifter than eagles.^(Z)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(AA)
14 Jerusalem, wash^(AB) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(AC)
    How long^(AD) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,^(AE)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(AF)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(AG)
    raising a war cry^(AH) against the cities of Judah.^(AI)
17 They surround^(AJ) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(AK) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your own conduct and actions^(AL)
    have brought this on you.^(AM)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(AN) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹ Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^(AO)
    I writhe in pain.^(AP)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds^(AQ) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.^(AR)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^(AS)
    I have heard the battle cry.^(AT)
20 Disaster follows disaster;^(AU)
    the whole land lies in ruins.^(AV)
In an instant my tents^(AW) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
²¹ How long must I see the battle standard^(AX)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?^(AY)

²² “My people are fools;^(AZ)
    they do not know me.^(BA)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.^(BB)
They are skilled in doing evil;^(BC)
    they know not how to do good.”^(BD)

²³ I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;^(BE)
and at the heavens,
    and their light^(BF) was gone.
²⁴ I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;^(BG)
    all the hills were swaying.
²⁵ I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.^(BH)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^(BI)
    all its towns lay in ruins^(BJ)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^(BK)

“The whole land will be ruined,^(BL)
    though I will not destroy^(BM) it completely.
²⁸ Therefore the earth will mourn^(BN)
    and the heavens above grow dark,^(BO)
because I have spoken and will not relent,^(BP)
    I have decided and will not turn back.^(BQ)”

²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers^(BR)
    every town takes to flight.^(BS)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(BT)
All the towns are deserted;^(BU)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰ What are you doing,^(BV) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(BW) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(BX)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(BY) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(BZ)

³¹ I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^(CA)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion^(CB) gasping for breath,^(CC)
    stretching out her hands^(CD) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”^(CE)