I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride, for the land will become a desolate waste.
The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; no craftsman of any trade will ever be found in you again; the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again;
The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the appointed festivals. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she herself is bitter.
I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them #– #the voice of the groom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.
‘Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgement.
And I will punish her for the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense. She put on her rings and her jewellery and followed her lovers, but she forgot me. This is the Lord’s declaration.