²⁹ At the sound of the horseman and bowman ^(A)every city flees;
They ^(B)go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks;
^(C)Every city is forsaken,
And no man inhabits them.
³⁰ And you, O devastated one, ^(D)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you ^(E)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your ^[a](F)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
³¹ For I heard a sound as of a woman in labor pains,
The distress as of one giving birth to her first child,
The sound of the daughter of Zion ^(G)gasping for breath,
^(H)Stretching out her ^[b]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”