16. I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.
17. The Lord All-Powerful said,“Send for the womenwho are paid to weepat funerals,especially the womenwho can cry the loudest.”
18. The people answered,“Let them come quicklyand cry for us,until our own eyesare flooded with tears.
19. Now those of us on Zion cry,‘We are ruined!We can't stand the shame.Our homes have been destroyed,and we must leave our land.’
20. “We ask you womento pay attentionto what the Lord says.We will teach you a funeral songthat you can teachyour daughters and friends:
21. ‘We were in our fortress,but death sneaked inthrough our windows.It even struck downchildren at playand our strongest young men.’
22. “The Lord has told usthe ground will be coveredwith dead bodies,like stalks of ungathered grainor like manure.”
23. The Lord says:Don't boast about your wisdomor strength or wealth.
24. If you feel you must boast,then have enough senseto boast about worshipping me,the Lord.What I like bestis showing kindness,justice, and mercyto everyone on earth.
25-26. Some day I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert. The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.