"Whenyou besiegea citya longtime,to makewaragainstit in order to captureit, you shall not destroyits treesby swingingan axeagainstthem; for you may eatfrom them, and you shall not cutthem down.For is the treeof the fielda man,that it should be besiegedby you?
Then you shall strikeeveryfortifiedcityand everychoicecity,and felleverygoodtreeand stopallspringsof water,and mareverygoodpieceof landwith stones.'"
Thus they destroyedthe cities;and eachonethrewa stoneon everypieceof goodlandand filledit. So they stoppedallthe springsof waterand felledallthe goodtrees,untilin Kir-hareseth[only] they leftits stones;however, the slingerswentabout[it] and struckit.
For thussaysthe LORDof hosts,"Cutdownher treesAnd castup a siegeagainstJerusalem.Thisis the cityto be punished,In whose midstthere is onlyoppression.
Seeinga lonefigtreeby the road,He cameto it and foundnothingon it exceptleavesonly;and He saidto it, "Nolongershall there everbe [any] fruitfrom you." And at oncethe fig treewithered.
"The axeis alreadylaidat the rootof the trees;thereforeeverytreethat does not beargoodfruitis cut downand throwninto the fire.
sothat they may not teachyou to doaccording to alltheir detestablethingswhichthey have donefor their gods,so that you would sinagainst the LORDyour God.
"Onlythe treeswhichyou knoware not fruittreesyou shall destroyand cutdown,that you may constructsiegeworksagainstthe citythat is makingwarwith you untilit falls.
And the Egyptianstreatedus harshlyand afflictedus, and imposedhardlaboron us.
