20. Disaster follows disaster. The whole country is destroyed. Suddenly my tents are destroyed. My curtains are torn down!
21. How long must I see the war flags? How long must I hear the war trumpets?
22. The Lord said, “My people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are stupid children. They don’t understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
23. I looked at the earth. It was empty; there was nothing on it. I looked at the sky, and its light was gone.
24. I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills were trembling.
25. I looked, but there were no people. All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26. I looked, and the good land had become a desert. All the cities in that land were destroyed by the Lord and his great anger.
27. This is what the Lord says: “The whole country will be ruined, but I will not completely destroy the land.
28. So the people in the land will cry for the dead. The sky will grow dark. I have spoken and will not change. I have made a decision, and I will not change my mind.”
29. The people of Judah will hear the sound of the horse soldiers and the archers, and the people will run away! Some of them will hide in caves; some will hide in the bushes; some will climb up into the rocks. All the cities of Judah will be empty. No one will live in them.
30. Judah, you have been destroyed. So what are you doing now? Why are you putting on your best red dress? Why are you putting on your gold jewelry? Why are you putting on your eye makeup? You make yourself beautiful, but it is a waste of time. Your lovers hate you. They are trying to kill you.