4 Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
5 “Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?Who will weep for you?Who will even bother to ask how you are?
6 You have abandoned meand turned your back on me,”says the lord.“Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you.I am tired of always giving you another chance.
7 I will winnow you like grain at the gates of your citiesand take away the children you hold dear.I will destroy my own people,because they refuse to change their evil ways.
8 There will be more widowsthan the grains of sand on the seashore.At noontime I will bring a destroyeragainst the mothers of young men.I will cause anguish and terrorto come upon them suddenly.
9 The mother of seven grows faint and gasps for breath;her sun has gone down while it is still day.She sits childless now,disgraced and humiliated.And I will hand over those who are leftto be killed by the enemy.I, the lord, have spoken!”
10 Then I said,“What sorrow is mine, my mother.Oh, that I had died at birth!I am hated everywhere I go.I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclosenor a borrower who refuses to pay—yet they all curse me.”