“Other people will be allowed to take your sons and your daughters. Day after day you will look for your children. You will look for them until your eyes become weak and blind—but you will not find them. And God will not help you.
Jerusalem’s enemies have won. Her enemies have been successful. This happened because the Lord punished her. He punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have gone away. Their enemies captured them and took them away.
Nebuchadnezzar captured all the people of Jerusalem, including the leaders and other wealthy people. He took 10,000 people and made them prisoners. He took all the skilled workers and craftsmen. No one was left, except the poorest of the common people.
The Israelite army captured 200,000 of their own relatives living in Judah. They took women, children, and many valuable things from Judah and carried them back to Samaria.
Now Jerusalem says, “I refused to listen to the Lord, so he is right for doing these things. So listen, all you people! Look at my pain! My young women and men have gone into captivity.
Never again will a woman suffer childbirth and have her baby die. Women will not fear childbirth. I, the Lord, will bless all my people and their children.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, the man in charge of his officials, to bring some of the boys into the palace to train them. He was to include boys from among the Israelites, from important Judean families, and from the royal family of Judah.
So cut off your hair, make yourself bald, because you will cry for the children you love. Make yourself bald like an eagle and show your sadness, because your children will be taken away from you.