for the bustling city with its mansions will be deserted. The high ground and watchtower will be empty, becoming the joy of wild donkeys and a grazing ground for flocks.
The whole city is in an uproar. What’s happened to the once happy, bustling city? The bodies of the slain litter your streets. They were not slain by the sword on the battlefield but executed.
The city that was once mighty you’ve turned into a heap of rubble; the fortified city now lies in ruins. The foreigner’s fortress is no more and will never be rebuilt.
This is what Yahweh, the Commander of Angel Armies, said in my ears: “Truly, many of your houses will become devastated and your large, impressive mansions will have no one living in them!
In that day, the fine vineyards, each with a thousand vines and worth a thousand pieces of silver, will be a wilderness overgrown with weeds, briars, and thorn bushes.
For I, Yahweh, God of Israel, have something to say about the houses of this city and the dwellings of the kings of Judah. You have torn them down to be used to defend yourselves against the attack of the Babylonian armies.
Many will be cut down by the sword or scattered as prisoners to many countries. And Jerusalem shall be trampled down by nations until the days of world empires come to an end.”