This message concludes by returning to a further description of conditions when Yahweh would judge Israel (cf. vv. 1-3). The sovereign Yahweh of armies, Israel's master, announced wailing in all the open plazas of the Israelite towns and in their streets. There would be many funerals. Everyone would bewail the conditions of divine judgment, not just the professional mourners but even the poor farmers who would have to bury their oppressors. The vineyards, often places of joy and merriment, would be full of mourning, as would the streets. Yahweh promised to pass through the midst of His people, not to bless them but to blast them with punishment. Earlier God had passed through Egypt with similar devastating results (cf. Exod. 11:4-7; 12:12-13).
