19. The pain! I can't bear the pain!My heart! My heart is beating wildly!I can't keep quiet;I hear the trumpetsand the shouts of battle.
20. One disaster follows another;the whole country is left in ruins.Suddenly our tents are destroyed;their curtains are torn to pieces.
21. How long must I see the battle ragingand hear the blasts of trumpets?
22. The Lord says, “My people are stupid;they don't know me.They are like foolish children;they have no understanding.They are experts at doing what is evil,but failures at doing what is good.”
23. I looked at the earth — it was a barren waste;at the sky — there was no light.
24. I looked at the mountains — they were shaking,and the hills were rocking to and fro.
25. I saw that there were no people;even the birds had flown away.
26. The fertile land had become a desert;its cities were in ruinsbecause of the Lord's fierce anger.
27. (The Lord has said that the whole earth will become a wilderness, but that he will not completely destroy it.)
28. The earth will mourn;the sky will grow dark.The Lord has spokenand will not change his mind.He has made his decisionand will not turn back.