<t /><p class="poetry">Indeed, O <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="1" /> you have abandoned your people,p> <p class="poetry">the descendants of Jacob.p> <p class="poetry">For diviners from the east are everywhere;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they consult omen readers like the Philistines do.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Plenty of foreigners are around.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the year of King Uzziah&#8217;s death,<n id="1" /> I saw the sovereign master<n id="2" /> seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

<p class="poetry">They will no longer injure or destroyp> <p class="poetry">on my entire royal mountain.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For there will be universal submission to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s sovereignty,p> <p class="poetry">just as the waters completely cover the sea.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Wild animals will rest there,p> <p class="poetry">the ruined<n id="1" /> houses will be full of hyenas.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Ostriches will live there,p> <p class="poetry">wild goats will skip among the ruins.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Prepare to execute<n id="1" /> his sonsp> <p class="poetry">for the sins their ancestors have committed.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,p> <p class="poetry">or fill the surface of the world with cities.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Indeed, the waters of Dimon<n id="1" /> are full of blood!p> <p class="poetry">Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">A lion will attack<n id="3" /> the Moabite fugitivesp> <p class="poetry">and the people left in the land.p>

<p class="poetry">For this reason my stomach churns;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">cramps overwhelm mep> <p class="poetry">like the contractions of a woman in labor.p> <p class="poetry">I am disturbed<n id="2" /> by what I hear,p> <p class="poetry">horrified by what I see.p>

<p class="poetry">Look, the name<n id="1" /> of the <sc>Lordsc> comes from a distant placep> <p class="poetry">in raging anger and awesome splendor.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">He speaks angrilyp> <p class="poetry">and his word is like destructive fire.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Your children faint;p> <p class="poetry">they lie at the head of every streetp> <p class="poetry">like an antelope in a snare.p> <p class="poetry">They are left in a stupor by the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s anger,p> <p class="poetry">by the battle cry of your God.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">But as for you who abandon the <sc>Lordsc>p> <p class="poetry">and forget about worshiping at<n id="1" /> my holy mountain,p> <p class="poetry">who prepare a feast for the god called &#8216;Fortune,&#8217;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and fill up wine jugs for the god called &#8216;Destiny&#8217;<n id="3" /> &#8211;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Announce<n id="2" /> this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem:<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Sound the trumpet<n id="4" /> throughout the land!&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">Shout out loudly,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!&#8217;p>

Before I restore them<n id="1" /> I will punish them in full<n id="2" /> for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own<n id="3" /> with their detestable idols.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">For the land is full of people unfaithful to him.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They live wicked lives and they misuse their power.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">So the land is dried up<n id="3" /> because it is under his curse.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">The pastures in the wilderness are withered.p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Do you really think anyone can hide himselfp> <p class="poetry">where I cannot see him?&#8221; the <sc>Lordsc> asks.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Do you not know that I am everywhere?&#8221;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the <sc>Lordsc> asks.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!p> <p class="poetry">Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The time for you to be slaughtered has come.p> <p class="poetry">You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The nations will hear of your devastating defeat.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth.p> <p class="poetry">In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over anotherp> <p class="poetry">and both of them will fall down defeated.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">by their God, the <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">For the land of Babylonia is<n id="3" /> full of guiltp> <p class="poetry">against the Holy One of Israel.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonp> <p class="poetry">devoured me and drove my people out.p> <p class="poetry">Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me.p> <p class="poetry">He filled his belly with my riches.p> <p class="poetry">He made me an empty dish.p> <p class="poetry">He completely cleaned me out.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">He said to them, &#8220;Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!&#8221; So they went out and struck people down throughout the city.

&#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;