17. “Watch out!” the Lord says, “I am sending snakes among you, poisonous snakes that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you.”
18. My sorrow cannot be healed;I am sick at heart.
19. Listen! Throughout the landI hear my people crying out,“Is the Lord no longer in Zion?Is Zion's king no longer there?”The Lord, their king, replies,“Why have you made me angry by worshipping your idolsand by bowing down to your useless foreign gods?”
20. The people cry out,“The summer is gone, the harvest is over,but we have not been saved.”
21. My heart has been crushedbecause my people are crushed;I mourn; I am completely dismayed.