In my time of trouble I sought ¹  the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ²  I ³  refused to be comforted.

A prayer of Moses, the man of God. O Lord, you have been our protector ²  through all generations!

Yes, ¹  throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; ²  the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. ³ 

The king is strong; he loves justice. ¹  You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ²  you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

I saw something else on earth: ¹  In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, ²  there was wickedness.

Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory; their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. ¹ 

Then the guard ¹  cries out: “On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ²  I stand all day long; at my post I am stationed every night.

Is this really your boisterous city ¹  whose origins are in the distant past, ²  and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?

What can I say? He has decreed and acted. ¹  I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ² 

He will not grow dim or be crushed ¹  before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands ²  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ³ 

Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! ¹  Truly I am God, I have no peer; ²  I am God, and there is none like me,

I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.”

The Lord said to me, “Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant with you ¹  and carry them out!

He says, “I will build myself a large palace with spacious upper rooms.” He cuts windows in its walls, panels it ¹  with cedar, and paints its rooms red. ² 

I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. ¹  I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. ² 

The Lord affirms, ¹  “The descendants of Israel will not cease forever to be a nation in my sight. That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights were to cease to operate before me.” ² 

In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ¹  of David. “‘He will do what is just and right in the land.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning ¹  all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. ² 

The nations will hear of your devastating defeat. ¹  your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth. In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over another and both of them will fall down defeated.” ² 

“Make an announcement throughout Egypt. Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. ¹  ‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle. For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’ ²