16. I will scatter them among nationsthat they and their ancestors haven’t heard of.I will send armies after them until I’ve wiped them out.
17. This is what the Lord of Armies says:Consider this:Call for the women who cry at funerals.Send for those who are the most skilled.
18. They should come quickly and cry for us.Our eyes will run with tears.Our eyelids will flow with water.
19. The sound of crying is heard from Zion.“We’re ruined! We’re very ashamed.We must leave our land because our homes have been torn down.”
20. Listen to the word of the Lord, you women,and open your ears to hear his words.Teach your daughters how to cry.Teach your neighbors funeral songs.
21. Death has come through our windows and entered our palaces.Death has cut down the children in the streetsand the young men in the marketplaces.
22. This is what the Lord says:Dead bodies will fall like manure on the field.They will be like grain that has been cut but not gathered.
23. This is what the Lord says:Don’t let wise people brag about their wisdom.Don’t let strong people brag about their strength.Don’t let rich people brag about their riches.
24. If they want to brag, they should brag that they understand and know me.They should brag that I, the Lord, act out of love, righteousness,and justice on the earth.This kind of bragging pleases me, declares the Lord.
25. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,“when I will punish all who are circumcised.
26. I will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab.I will punish all who shave the hair on their foreheadsor live in the desert.Even though these nations are circumcised,all Israel has uncircumcised hearts.”