<p class="lamhebrew">&#1497; (<i>Yodi>)p> <p class="poetry">The elders of Daughter Zionp> <p class="poetry">sit<n id="1" /> on the ground in silence.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They have thrown dirt on their heads;p> <p class="poetry">They have dressed in sackcloth.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Jerusalem&#8217;s young women<n id="4" /> stare down at the ground.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1500; (<i>Lamedi>)p> <p class="poetry">Neither the kings of the earthp> <p class="poetry">nor the people of the lands<n id="1" /> ever thought<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">that enemy or foe would enterp> <p class="poetry">the gates<n id="3" /> of Jerusalem.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">&#8220;And you, son of man, take a brick<n id="1" /> and set it in front of you. Inscribe<n id="2" /> a city on it &#8211; Jerusalem.

<p class="bodytext">Then he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply<n id="1" /> in Jerusalem.<n id="2" /> They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

Say to them, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> and all the house of Israel within it.&#8217;<n id="2" />

those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem<n id="1" /> and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,&#8221; declares the sovereign <sc>Lordsc>.&#8217;p>

and say, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

&#8220;Son of man, turn toward<n id="1" /> Jerusalem<n id="2" /> and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

Mark out the routes for the sword to take: &#8220;Rabbah of the Ammonites&#8221; and &#8220;Judah with Jerusalem in it.&#8221;<n id="1" />

Therefore this is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8216;Because all of you<n id="1" /> have become slag, look out! &#8211; I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem.<n id="2" />

Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah<n id="1" /> the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters.<n id="2" /> Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.p>

&#8220;Son of man, because Tyre<n id="1" /> has said about Jerusalem,<n id="2" /> &#8216;Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich,<n id="3" /> now that she<n id="4" /> has been destroyed,&#8217;

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month,<n id="1" /> a refugee came to me from Jerusalem<n id="2" /> saying, &#8220;The city has been defeated!&#8221;<n id="3" />

Like the sheep for offerings, like the sheep of Jerusalem<n id="1" /> during her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the <sc>Lordsc>.&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the third<n id="1" /> year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar<n id="2" /> of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem<n id="3" /> and laid it under siege.<n id="4" />

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> roars from Zion;p> <p class="poetry">from Jerusalem<n id="1" /> his voice bellows out.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">The heavens<n id="3" /> and the earth shake.p> <p class="poetry">But the <sc>Lordsc> is a refuge for his people;p> <p class="poetry">he is a stronghold for the citizens<n id="4" /> of Israel.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">You will be convinced<n id="1" /> that I the <sc>Lordsc> am your God,p> <p class="poetry">dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.p> <p class="poetry">Jerusalem<n id="2" /> will be holy &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">conquering armies<n id="3" /> will no longer pass through it.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Amos<n id="1" /> said:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> comes roaring<n id="2" /> out of Zion;p> <p class="poetry">from Jerusalem<n id="3" /> he comes bellowing!<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">The shepherds&#8217; pastures wilt;<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">the summit of Carmel<n id="6" /> withers.&#8221;<n id="7" />p>

<p class="poetry">You stood aloof<n id="1" /> while strangers took his army<n id="2" /> captive,p> <p class="poetry">and foreigners advanced to his gates.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">When they cast lots<n id="4" /> over Jerusalem,<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">you behaved as though you were in league<n id="6" /> with them.p>

<p class="poetry">The exiles of this fortress<n id="1" /> of the people of Israelp> <p class="poetry">will take possession<n id="2" /> of what belongs top> <p class="poetry">the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and the exiles of Jerusalem<n id="4" /> who are in Sepharad<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">will take possession of the towns of the Negev.p>