20. Jerusalem is like a tent that has been destroyed. All of its ropes have snapped. My people have gone away from me. Now no one is left to set up my tent. I have no one to set it up for me.
21. The leaders of my people are like shepherds who don't have any sense. They don't ask the Lord for advice. That's why they don't succeed. And that's why their whole flock is scattered like sheep.
22. Listen! A message is coming! I hear the sound of a great army marching down from the north! It will turn Judah's towns into a desert. They will become a home for wild dogs.
23. Lord, I know that a man doesn't control his own life. He doesn't direct his own steps.
24. Correct me, Lord. But please be fair. Don't correct me when you are angry. If you do, nothing will be left of me.
25. Pour out your burning anger on the nations. They don't pay any attention to you. They refuse to worship you. They have destroyed the people of Jacob. They've wiped them out completely. They've also destroyed the land they lived in.