Then I said,"Lord,howlong?"And He answered,"Untilcitiesare devastated[and] withoutinhabitant,Housesare withoutpeopleAnd the landis utterlydesolate,
Howlong,O God,will the adversaryrevile,[And] the enemyspurnYour nameforever?
Howlong,O LORD?Will You be angryforever?Will Your jealousyburnlikefire?
Do return,O LORD;howlong[will it be]? And be sorryfor Your servants.
Howlongshall the wicked,O LORD,Howlongshall the wickedexult?
Your landis desolate,Your citiesare burnedwith fire,Your fields--strangersare devouringthem in your presence;It is desolation,as overthrownby strangers.
I will makemortalmanscarcerthanpuregoldAnd mankindthanthe goldof Ophir.
And her gateswill lamentand mourn,And desertedshe will siton the ground.
For Jerusalemhas stumbledand Judahhas fallen,Becausetheir speechand their actionsare againstthe LORD,To rebelagainst His gloriouspresence.
Becausethe palacehas been abandoned,the populatedcityforsaken.Hilland watch-towerhave becomecavesforever,A delightfor wilddonkeys,a pasturefor flocks;
The wildernessand the desertwill be glad,And the Arabahwill rejoiceand blossom;Like the crocus
In my earsthe LORDof hosts[has sworn], "Surely,manyhousesshall becomedesolate,[Even] greatand fineones,withoutoccupants.
"Whereasyou have beenforsakenand hatedWith noonepassingthrough,I will makeyou an everlastingpride,A joyfrom generationto generation.
Your holycitieshave becomea wilderness,Zionhas becomea wilderness,Jerusalema desolation.
For thussaysthe LORDconcerningthe houseof the kingof Judah:"You are [like] Gileadto Me, [Like] the summitof Lebanon;Yet mostassuredlyI will makeyou like a wilderness,[Like] citieswhich are not inhabited.
"A lionhas goneup from his thicket,And a destroyerof nationshas setout; He has goneout from his placeTo makeyour landa waste.Your citieswill be ruinsWithoutinhabitant.
"Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,the Godof Israel,'You yourselveshave seenallthe calamitythat I have broughton Jerusalemand allthe citiesof Judah;and behold,thisdaythey are in ruinsand noonelivesin them,
Then the kingof Babylonstruckthem downand putthem to deathat Riblahin the landof Hamath.So Judahwas ledawayinto exilefrom its land.
"In allyour dwellings,citieswill becomewasteand the highplaceswill be desolate,that your altarsmay becomewasteand desolate,your idolsmay be brokenand broughtto an end,your incensealtarsmay be cutdown,and your worksmay be blottedout.
Then I hearda holyonespeaking,and anotherholyonesaidto that particularonewho was speaking,"Howlongwill the vision[about] the regularsacrificeapply, while the transgressioncauseshorror,so as to allowboth the holyplace and the hostto be trampled?"
I will laywasteyour citiesas well and will makeyour sanctuariesdesolate,and I will not smellyour soothingaromas.
You, however, I will scatteramong the nationsand will drawout a swordafteryou, as your landbecomesdesolateand your citiesbecomewaste.
"On that daythey will takeup againstyou a tauntAnd uttera bitterlamentation[and] say,'We are completelydestroyed!He exchangesthe portionof my people;HowHe removesit from me! To the apostateHe apportionsour fields.'
"I will also cutoffthe citiesof your landAnd teardownallyour fortifications.
"So alsoI will make[you] sick,strikingyou down,Desolating[you] becauseof your sins.
And the earthwill becomedesolatebecauseof her inhabitants,On accountof the fruitof their deeds.
"Then you shall be leftfewin number,whereasyou were as numerousas the starsof heaven,becauseyou did not obeythe LORDyour God.
"It shall comeabout that as the LORDdelightedoveryou to prosperyou, and multiplyyou, sothe LORDwill delightoveryou to make you perishand destroyyou; and you will be tornfrom the landwhereyou are enteringto possessit.
