"Onethirdyou shall burnin the fireat the centerof the city,when the daysof the siegeare completed.Then you shall takeonethirdand strike[it] with the swordallaroundthe city, and onethirdyou shall scatterto the wind;and I will unsheathea swordbehindthem.
"Therefore I will scatterthem like driftingstrawTo the desertwind.
"And it shall be that whenthey sayto you, 'Whereshould we go?'then you are to tellthem, 'Thussaysthe LORD:"Those [destined] for death,to death;And those [destined] for the sword,to the sword;And those [destined] for famine,to famine;And those [destined] for captivity,to captivity."'
I will sendthe sword,the famineand the pestilenceupon them untilthey are destroyedfrom the landwhichI gaveto them and their forefathers.'"
"Thussaysthe LORD,He who staysin thiscitywill dieby the swordand by famineand by pestilence,but he who goesout to the Chaldeanswill liveand havehis [own] lifeas bootyand stayalive.'
Now whenJerusalemwas capturedin the ninthyearof Zedekiahkingof Judah,in the tenthmonth,Nebuchadnezzarkingof Babylonand allhis armycameto Jerusalemand laidsiegeto it;
in the eleventhyearof Zedekiah,in the fourthmonth,in the ninth[day] of the month,the city[wall] was breached.
thereforethussaysthe LORDof hosts,the Godof Israel,"behold,I will feedthem, thispeople,with wormwoodand givethem poisonedwaterto drink.
"I will scatterthem among the nations,whomneitherthey northeir fathershave known;and I will sendthe swordafterthem untilI have annihilatedthem."
"I will scatterto everywindallwhoare aroundhim, his helpersand allhis troops;and I will drawout a swordafterthem.
"Allthe choicemenin allhis troopswill fallby the sword,and the survivorswill be scatteredto everywind;and you will knowthat I, the LORD,have spoken."
Therefore,fatherswill eat[their] sonsamongyou, and sonswill eattheir fathers;for I will executejudgmentson you and scatterallyour remnantto everywind.
Onethirdof you will dieby plagueor be consumedby famineamongyou, onethirdwill fallby the swordaroundyou, and onethirdI will scatterto everywind,and I will unsheathea swordbehindthem.
"Takealso a fewin numberfrom them and bindthem in the edgesof your [robes].
You, however, I will scatteramong the nationsand will drawout a swordafteryou, as your landbecomesdesolateand your citiesbecomewaste.
"And thoughthey gointo captivitybeforetheir enemies,From thereI will commandthe swordthat it slaythem, And I will setMy eyesagainstthem for eviland not for good."
"It will comeabout in allthe land,"Declaresthe LORD,"That twopartsin it will be cutoff[and] perish;But the thirdwill be leftin it.
