Jeremiah 4:29-31

The Voice

²⁹ As the horseman thunders closer and the archer draws near,
    the people panic and the cities empty.
They scatter to the bushes; they scramble to the hills.
    The villages are abandoned, for no one dares remain.
³⁰ So what are you doing, my ravaged one?
    Why are you dressing up in scarlet, putting on your gold jewelry,
And painting your eyes to make them larger, more beautiful?
    You’re wasting your time.
Your lovers want nothing to do with you.
    In fact, they despise you, and are looking to kill you.

³¹ I hear a cry like a woman in labor, the distress of a first-time mother.
    It is the anguish of my people; it is the voice of the daughter of Zion,
Gasping for breath, reaching for help, as she cries out,
    “I am faint, and my life is in the hands of murderers!”