Jehoahaz had no army left except for 50 horses, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers because the king of Aram had destroyed the rest. He had made them like dust that people trample.
He captured all Jerusalem, all the generals, all the soldiers (10,000 prisoners), and all the craftsmen and smiths. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
That is why a curse devours the earth, and its people are punished for their guilt. That is why those who live on the earth are burned up, and only a few people are left.
I asked, “How long, O Lord?” And he replied, “Until the cities lie in ruins with no one living in them, the houses have no people, and the land is completely desolate.
Even if one out of ten people is left in it, the land will be burned again. When a sacred oak or an oak is cut down, a stump is left The holy seed will be the land’s stump.”
They said to him, “Please listen to our request, and pray to the Lord your God for all of us who are left here. As you can see, there are only a few of us left.
This is what the Almighty Lord says: The city that sends 1,000 troops off to war will have ⌞only⌟ 100 left. The one that sends 100 troops off to war will have ⌞only⌟ 10 left for the nation of Israel.