<p class="poetry">Mourn over the field,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">over the delightful fieldsp> <p class="poetry">and the fruitful vine!p>

<p class="poetry">For I will pour water on the parched ground<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and cause streams to flow<n id="2" /> on the dry land.p> <p class="poetry">I will pour my spirit on your offspringp> <p class="poetry">and my blessing on your children.p>

<p class="poetry">You say, &#8216;No, we will flee on horses,&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">so you will indeed flee.p> <p class="poetry">You say, &#8216;We will ride on fast horses,&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">so your pursuers will be fast.p>

<p class="poetry">This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;p> <p class="poetry">my hand is ready to strike all the nations.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">For this reason what they have made and stored up,p> <p class="poetry">they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.p>

<p class="poetry">along with the plants by the mouth of the river.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">All the cultivated land near the riverp> <p class="poetry">will turn to dust and be blown away.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">They will be imprisoned in a pit,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">locked up in a prison,p> <p class="poetry">and after staying there for a long time,<n id="2" /> they will be punished.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">These people continually and blatantly offend me<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and burn incense on brick altars.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will climb up to the tops<n id="1" /> of the clouds;p> <p class="poetry">I will make myself like the Most High!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

He touched my mouth with it and said, &#8220;Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">They devoured<n id="1" /> on the right, but were still hungry,p> <p class="poetry">they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.p> <p class="poetry">People even ate<n id="2" /> the flesh of their own arm!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,p> <p class="poetry">or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,p> <p class="poetry">or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!p>

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> will certainly have compassion on Jacob;<n id="1" /> he will again choose Israel as his special people<n id="2" /> and restore<n id="3" /> them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family<n id="4" /> of Jacob.

<p class="poetry">So I weep along with Jazer<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">over the vines of Sibmah.p> <p class="poetry">I will saturate you<n id="2" /> with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,p> <p class="poetry">for the conquering invaders shout triumphantlyp> <p class="poetry">over your fruit and crops.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">So I say:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Don&#8217;t look at me!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I am weeping bitterly.p> <p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t try<n id="2" /> to console mep> <p class="poetry">concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">This is what the sovereign master, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies, says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace,<n id="1" /> and tell him:<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">So a treaty curse<n id="1" /> devours the earth;p> <p class="poetry">its inhabitants pay for their guilt.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and are reduced to just a handful of people.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">At that time<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> will punish<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the heavenly forces in the heavens<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and the earthly kings on the earth.p>

<p class="poetry">On this mountain he will swallow upp> <p class="poetry">the shroud that is over all the peoples,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">the woven covering that is over all the nations;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Mourn<n id="1" /> over the land of my people,p> <p class="poetry">which is overgrown with thorns and briers,p> <p class="poetry">and over all the once-happy houses<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">in the city filled with revelry.<n id="3" />p>