25. I looked, and there were no people!Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26. I looked, and the good, rich land had become a desert!All its towns had been destroyed.The Lord and his great anger has caused this.
27. This is what the Lord says:“All the land will be ruined.But I will not completely destroy it.
28. So the people in the land will cry loudly.And the sky will grow dark.This is because I have spoken and will not change my mind.I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”
29. The towns will hear the sound of the horsemen and soldiers with bows.All the people will run away.Some of them will hide in the thick bushes.Some will climb up into the rocks.All of the cities of Judah are empty.No one lives in them.
30. Judah, you destroyed nation, what are you doing?Why do you put on your finest dress?Why do you put on your gold jewelry?Why do you put on your eye shadow?You make yourself beautiful, but it is all useless.Your lovers hate you.They want to kill you.
31. I hear a cry like a woman having a baby.It is a cry like a woman having her first child.It is the voice of Jerusalem gasping for breath.She lifts her hands in prayer and says,“Oh! I am about to faint.They are about to murder me!”