“Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, and fall among the slain.” With all this His displeasure has not turned back, and His hand is still stretched out.
“Therefore thus said יהוה concerning the sovereign of Ashshur, ‘He does not come into this city, nor does he shoot an arrow there, nor does he come before it with shield, nor does he build a siege mound against it.
And a messenger of יהוה went out, and killed in the camp of Ashshur one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And they arose early in the morning, and saw all of them, dead bodies.
‘If I go out to the field, then see those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, then see those sick from scarcity of food! For both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
“Thus said יהוה, ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by scarcity of food, and by pestilence, but whoever goes over to the Chaldeans shall live. And his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’
How alone she sits, The city once great with people! Like a widow she has become, One great among the nations! A princess among provinces has become a slave!
“See, O יהוה, and look attentively To whom have You done thus. Should the women eat their offspring, Infants of a hand breadth? Should the priest and prophet be slain In the set-apart place of יהוה ?
This is the exultant city that is dwelling in safety, that said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none but me.” How has she become a waste, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her whistles and shakes his fist.