See, O LORD, and behold to whom thou have done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the sons who are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of LORD?
If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.
Thus says LORD: He who abides in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.
And the agent of LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
Therefore thus says LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there. Neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
For the palace shall be forsaken. The populous city shall be deserted. The hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks,
How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become tributary!
This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me. How she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.