12. They should be ashamedof their detestable practices,but they have no shame;they don’t even blush!Therefore, they will fall among the fallenand stumble when disaster arrives,declares the Lord.
13. I will put an end to them,declares the Lord;there are no grapes on the vine,no figs on the tree,only withered leaves.They have squandered what I have given them!
14. Why are we sitting here?Come, let’s go to the fortified townsand meet our doom there.The Lord our God has doomed usby giving us poisoned water to drink,because we have sinned against the Lord!
15. We longed for relief,but received none;for a time of healing,but found only terror.
16. The snorting of their horses can be heard as far as Dan;the neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble.They come to devour the land and everything in it,towns and people alike.
17. See, I’m sending serpents against you,vipers that you can’t charm,and they will bite you,declares the Lord.
18. No healing,only grief;my heart is broken.
19. Listen to the weeping of my peopleall across the land:"Isn’t the Lord in Zion?Is her king no longer there?"Why then did they anger me with their images,with pointless foreign gods?
20. "The harvest is past,the summer has ended,yet we aren’t saved."
21. Because my people are crushed,I am crushed;darkness and despair overwhelm me.
22. Is there no balm in Gilead?Is there no physician there?Why then have my peoplenot been restored to health?