For thussaysthe LORDconcerningthe houseof the kingof Judah:"You are [like] Gileadto Me, [Like] the summitof Lebanon;Yet mostassuredlyI will makeyou like a wilderness,[Like] citieswhich are not inhabited.
Then they satdownto eata meal.And as they raisedtheir eyesand looked,behold,a caravanof Ishmaeliteswas comingfrom Gilead,with their camelsbearingaromaticgumand balmand myrrh,on their wayto bring[them] downto Egypt.
A fruitfullandinto a saltwaste,Becauseof the wickednessof those who dwellin it.
"Howbeautifulyou are, my darling,Howbeautifulyou are! Your eyesare [like] dovesbehindyour veil;Your hairis like a flockof goatsThat have descendedfrom MountGilead.
"His legsare pillarsof alabasterSeton pedestalsof puregold;His appearanceis like LebanonChoiceas the cedars.
For the fortifiedcityis isolated,A homesteadforlornand forsakenlike the desert;Therethe calfwill graze,And thereit will liedownand feedon its branches.
"Throughyour servantsyou have reproachedthe Lord,And you have said,'With my manychariotsI cameup to the heightsof the mountains,To the remotestpartsof Lebanon;And I cutdownits tallcedars[and] its choicecypresses.And I will goto its highestpeak,its thickestforest.
Then I said,"Lord,howlong?"And He answered,"Untilcitiesare devastated[and] withoutinhabitant,Housesare withoutpeopleAnd the landis utterlydesolate,
"Then [say] to the householdof the kingof Judah,'Hearthe wordof the LORD,
"But I will punishyou according to the resultsof your deeds,"declaresthe LORD,"And I will kindlea firein its forestThat it may devourallits environs."'"
"As I live,"declaresthe LORD,"eventhoughConiahthe sonof Jehoiakimkingof Judahwere a signet[ring] on My righthand,yetI would pullyou off;
"Micahof Moreshethprophesiedin the daysof Hezekiahkingof Judah;and he spoketo allthe peopleof Judah,saying,'Thusthe LORDof hostshas said,"Zionwill be plowed[as] a field,And Jerusalemwill becomeruins,And the mountainof the houseas the highplacesof a forest."'
Disasteron disasteris proclaimed,For the wholelandis devastated;Suddenlymy tentsare devastated,My curtainsin an instant.
"A lionhas goneup from his thicket,And a destroyerof nationshas setout; He has goneout from his placeTo makeyour landa waste.Your citieswill be ruinsWithoutinhabitant.
Your motherwill be greatlyashamed,She who gaveyou birthwill be humiliated.Behold,[she will be] the leastof the nations,A wilderness,a parchedlandand a desert.
"Then I will make to ceasefrom the citiesof Judahand from the streetsof Jerusalemthe voiceof joyand the voiceof gladness,the voiceof the bridegroomand the voiceof the bride;for the landwill becomea ruin.
Is therenobalmin Gilead?Is therenophysicianthere?Whythenhas not the healthof the daughterof my peoplebeen restored?
"I will makeJerusalema heapof ruins, A hauntof jackals;And I will makethe citiesof Judaha desolation,withoutinhabitant."
Therefore,on accountof you Zionwill be plowedas a field,Jerusalemwill becomea heapof ruins,And the mountainof the temple[will become] highplacesof a forest.
Openyour doors,O Lebanon,That a firemay feedon your cedars.
Now the sonsof Reubenand the sonsof Gadhadan exceedinglylargenumberof livestock.So when they sawthe landof Jazerand the landof Gilead,that it was indeeda placesuitablefor livestock,
Let me, I pray,crossoverand seethe fairlandthat is beyondthe Jordan,that goodhillcountryand Lebanon.'
