2thou full of cry, a city of much people, a city full out joying? (O city full of noise, a city of many people, a city of great rejoicing!) thy slain men were not slain by sword, neither thy dead men were dead in battle.

3All thy princes fled together, and were bound hard; all that were found, were bound together, (though) they fled far. (All thy leaders fled away together, and were bound up by the archers; all who were found, were bound up together, though they had fled far away.)

4Therefore I said (And so I said), Go ye away from me, I shall weep bitterly; do not ye be busy to comfort me on the destroying of the daughter of my people.

5For why a day of slaying, and of defouling, and of weepings, is ordained of the Lord God of hosts, in the valley of vision; and he searcheth the wall, and is worshipful on the hill. (For a day of killing, and of defiling, and of weeping, is ordained by the Lord God of hosts, in the Valley of Vision; and the walls be broken down, and cries for help sound across the mountains.)

6And Elam took an arrow-case, or a quiver, and the chariot of an horseman; and the shield made naked the wall (and Kir uncovered, or made ready, its shield).

7And thy chosen valleys, Jerusalem, shall be full of carts; and knights shall put their seats in the gate. (And thy chosen valleys, Jerusalem, shall be full of chariots; and the horsemen shall plant their feet at thy gates.)

8And the covering of Judah shall be showed; and thou shalt see in that day the place of armours of the house of the forest; (And Judah’s defences shall be shown; and thou shalt see on that day, the arms, or the weapons, in the House of the Forest;)

9and ye shall see the crazings of the city of David, for those be multiplied (and ye shall see the cracks, or the crevices, in the wall of the city of David, for they be greatly multiplied). Ye gathered together the waters of the lower cistern,

10and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye destroyed [the] houses, to make strong the wall (to strengthen the wall);

11and ye made a pit betwixt (the) two walls, and ye restored the water of the eld cistern; and ye beheld not to him, that made that Jerusalem, and ye saw not the worker thereof afar. (and ye made a pit between the two walls, for the water of the old cistern; but ye looked not to Him who made that Jerusalem, yea, ye thought not about the Craftsman who made it long ago.)

12And the Lord of hosts shall call in that day to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to a girdle of sackcloth; (And the Lord of hosts shall call on that day for weeping, and for mourning, and for baldness, and for a girdle of sackcloth;)

13and lo! joy and gladness is to slay calves, and to strangle wethers, to eat flesh, and to drink wine; eat we, and drink we, for we shall die tomorrow (and lo! joy and happiness is to kill calves, and to strangle rams, yea, to eat flesh, and to drink wine; eat we, and drink we, for tomorrow we shall die.)

14And the voice of the Lord of hosts is showed in mine ears (And the voice of the Lord of hosts was heard in my ears), This wickedness shall not be forgiven to you, till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

15The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Go thou, and enter to him that dwelleth in the tabernacle, to Shebna, the sovereign of the temple; and thou shalt say to him, (The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Go thou, and go to him who liveth in the palace, to Shebna, the ruler of the king’s household; and thou shalt say to him,)

16What (hast) thou here, either as who (art thou) here? for thou hast hewed [out] to thee a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed a memorial in (an) high place diligently, a tabernacle in a stone to thee. (What hast thou here, and who art thou? for thou hast hewn out for thyself a tomb here, yea, thou hast diligently hewn out a memorial in a high place, a home for thyself in the stone.)

17Lo! the Lord shall make thee to be borne out, as a capon is borne out, and as a cloth, so he shall raise thee. (Lo! the Lord shall make thee to be taken away, like a capon is taken away, and he shall shake thee out, like a cloak is shaken out.)

18He crowning shall crown thee with tribulation; he shall send thee as a ball into a large land and wide; there thou shalt die, and there shall be the chariot of thy glory, and the shame of the house of thy Lord. (He crowning shall crown thee with tribulation; he shall throw thee like a ball into a great wide land; and there thou shalt die, and thy glorious chariots shall be there, but now they shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.)

19And I shall cast thee out of thy standing, and I shall put thee down of thy service. (And I shall throw thee out of thy office, and I shall put thee down from thy service.)

20And it shall be, in that day I shall call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah; (And it shall be, on that day I shall call for my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah;)

21and I shall clothe him in thy coat, and I shall comfort him with thy girdle, and I shall give thy power into the hands of him; and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. (and I shall clothe him in thy coat, and I shall strengthen him with thy girdle, and I shall give thy power into his hands; and he shall be like a father to those who live in Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.)

22And I shall give the key of the house of David on his shoulder (And I shall put the key of the house of David upon his shoulder); and he shall open, and none shall be that shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall be that shall open.

23And I shall set him (as) a stake, either a perch, in a faithful place, and he shall be into a seat of glory of the house of his father. (And I shall make him like a stake, or like a peg, in a firm place, and he shall be a seat of honour for all his father’s household.)

24And thou shalt hang on him all the glory of the house of his father, (unto) diverse kinds of vessels, each little vessel, from the vessels of cups, till to each vessel of musics (each little vessel, from the cups, unto the pots). 25In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, the stake that was set in the faithful place, shall be taken away, and it shall be broken, and shall fall down; and (that) shall perish that hanged therein, for the Lord spake. (On that day, saith the Lord of hosts, the stake that was firmly set in its place shall be taken away, and it shall be broken, and shall fall down; and what had hung there, shall perish, for the Lord hath spoken.)