5. This is a time of panic, defeat, and confusion in the Valley of Vision, and the Sovereign Lord Almighty has sent it on us. The walls of our city have been battered down, and cries for help have echoed among the hills.
6. The soldiers from the land of Elam came riding on horseback, armed with bows and arrows. Soldiers from the land of Kir had their shields ready.
7. The fertile valleys of Judah were filled with chariots; soldiers on horseback stood in front of Jerusalem's gates.
8. All Judah's defences crumbled.When that happened, you brought weapons out of the arsenal.
9-10. You found the places where the walls of Jerusalem needed repair. You inspected all the houses in Jerusalem and tore some of them down to get stones to repair the city walls. In order to store water,
11. you built a reservoir inside the city to hold the water flowing down from the old pool. But you paid no attention to God, who planned all this long ago and who caused it to happen.
12. The Sovereign Lord Almighty was calling you then to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and wear sackcloth.
13. Instead, you laughed and celebrated. You killed sheep and cattle to eat, and you drank wine. You said, “We might as well eat and drink! Tomorrow we'll be dead.”
14. The Sovereign Lord Almighty himself spoke to me and said, “This evil will never be forgiven them as long as they live. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
15. The Sovereign Lord Almighty told me to go to Shebna, the manager of the royal household, and say to him,
16. “Who do you think you are? What right have you to carve a tomb for yourself out of the rocky hillside?
17. You may be important, but the Lord will pick you up and throw you away.