12 Calling to their mothers, “I’m hungry! I’m thirsty!”
    then fainting like dying soldiers in the streets,
    breathing their last in their mothers’ laps.

13 How can I understand your plight, dear Jerusalem?
    What can I say to give you comfort, dear Zion?
    Who can put you together again? This bust-up is past understanding.

14 Your prophets courted you with sweet talk.
    They didn’t face you with your sin so that you could repent.
    Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions.

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12 They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”(A)
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(B)
    in their mothers’ arms.(C)

13 What can I say for you?(D)
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter(E) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?(F)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(G)
    Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets
    were false(H) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.(I)
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.(J)

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