And as he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it,

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great grief and uninterrupted pain in my heart, for I have wished, I myself, to be a curse from the Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to flesh;

that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, Those who remain, that are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction and reproach; and the wall of Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,

Therefore said I, Look away from me; let me weep bitterly: labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be still, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.

My bowels! my bowels! I am in travail! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace: for thou hearest, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the clamour of war. Destruction upon destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents laid waste, my curtains, in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

For the breach of the daughter of my people am I crushed; I go mourning; astonishment hath taken hold of me.

Oh that my head were waters, and mine eye a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

And if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is gone into captivity.

Mine eye runneth down with streams of water for the ruin of the daughter of my people.

For this will I lament, and I will howl; I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wounds are incurable; for it is come even unto Judah, it reacheth unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen her brood under her wings, and ye would not.

Brethren, the delight of my own heart and my supplication which I address to God for them is for salvation.