Baruch 4:8-18

8 You forgot the Eternal God, who had nourished you as a child, and so you brought grief to Jerusalem, who had been like a mother to you.
9 Jerusalem saw that God was punishing you because he was angry, and she said to all the neighboring cities, "Look at the great misery that God has brought on me.
10 I saw my sons and daughters taken into captivity, a captivity brought on them by the Eternal God.
11 I brought up my children with great delight, but I cried and mourned when they were taken from me.
12 Let no one take pleasure in my suffering now that I am a widow and so many of my children have been taken from me. They turned away from God's Law, and their sins have made me a deserted city.
13 They had no respect for his commandments and would not live by them; they refused to let him guide them in the way of righteousness.
14 "All you neighboring cities, come and consider how the Eternal God has sent my children into exile.
15 He brought against them a nation from far away, a shameless nation that speaks a foreign language and has no respect for the elderly and no pity for children.
16 These people carried off my beloved sons and took away my daughters, and I was left a widow, completely alone.
17 "My children in exile, I can do nothing to help you.
18 Only the one who brought this punishment upon you can rescue you from your enemies.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.