21. This is what the Lord says:I’m going to lay stumbling blocks in front of these people.Parents and children will stumble over them.Neighbors and their friends will die.
22. This is what the Lord says:An army is going to come from the north.A great nation is preparing itself in the distant parts of the earth.
23. Its people take hold of bows and spears.They are cruel and have no compassion.They sound like the roaring sea.They ride on horses.They march like soldiers ready for battleagainst my people Zion.
24. We have heard the news about them.Our hands hang limp.We are gripped by anguish and painlike a woman giving birth to a child.
25. Don’t go into the field or walk on the road.The enemy has a sword.Terror is all around.
26. Wear sackcloth, and roll around in ashes, my people.Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly.The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
27. “Jeremiah, I have put you in charge of testing and refining my people.You will know how to test their ways.
28. They are all vicious rebels.They go around slandering.They are all like bronze and iron.They corrupt themselves.