For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “I am about to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
“Moreover, I will silence among them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
Then I will bring an end, from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem, to the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land will be desolate.”
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground in silence. They threw dust on their heads and girded themselves with sackcloth. The maidens of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
“Judges and officers you are to appoint within all your gates that Adonai your God is giving you, according to your tribes; and they are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
And the sound of harpists and musicians, flautists and trumpeters, shall never be heard in you again! And the craftsman of any craft shall never be found in you again! And the sound of a mill shall never be heard in you again!