Woe to that Daughter of Rome, for soon it will be in ruin.
The righteous and wicked alike will suffer.
Surely you will be made like a desert, like towns not inhabited. (1)
What fault did your shepherds find in their fathers that they stray so far from their wisdom?
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. (2)
The shepherds are senseless and do not know from where they come;
so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. (3)
Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock will have no place to escape. (4)
The destroyers are at your doorstep, their weapons in hand;
yet your defenses have crumbled under your watch.
In truth, you have even forgotten the foe against which you are defending!
You ask, “Why has this fate befallen us?”
But only a fool asks such a question!
This is not fate. It is justice.
Because of your great gilt and many sins these things have happened upon you.
Have you not let your wells run dry?
Have you not allowed your cities to burn?
Have you not neglected the downtrodden?
Have you not left your dams to decay and break?
Have you not spun a web of lies to maintain your stores of gold?
Do you not see the widows you have brought into being?
Do you not see how your own hands have brought about this suffering?
You speak of justice but neglect mercy.
You decry power but only so that you may take it for yourself.
You invoke liberty as a cudgel in order to abdicate your responsibilities.
You have increased the number of your merchants til they are more numerous than the stars of the sky,
but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away. (5)
Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice,
making his countryman work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.
Your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. (6)
You ask, “How can we forestall this doom?”
Truth be, it cannot be forestalled.
Deadwood covers your land and it will burn; of this you can be assured.
Emerge from the ashes, here lies your hope.
But do not continue to neglect your foundation, oh Daughter of Rome!
Though the wildfire is necessary, do not let the flames melt your cornerstones;
for you will need a strong foundation on which to rebuild.
So say to your kings and queens,
“Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads.”
Do not weep for a dead king or mourn his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for the those who are unjustly exiled. (7)
Pay attention!
Lift up your eyes from your feet.
Do not distract yourself with the mirage in your hands.
Come awake! Look inside yourself so that you may Reflect, Repent, and Repair.
Seek that which has always been sought:
Truth, Transformation, and Transcendence.
1. Jeremiah 22:6 (NIV)
2. Jeremiah 2:5 (NIV)
3. Jeremiah 10:21 (NIV)
4. Jeremiah 25:34 (NIV)
5. Nahum 3:16 (NIV)
6. Jeremiah 22:13 (NIV)
7. Jeremiah 13:18 (NIV)