People of Israel, listen to this message which the LORD has spoken about you, the entire nation that he brought out of Egypt:

Listen to this, you women of Samaria, who grow fat like the well-fed cows of Bashan, who mistreat the weak, oppress the poor, and demand that your husbands keep you supplied with liquor!

And so the Sovereign LORD Almighty says, "There will be wailing and cries of sorrow in the city streets. Even farmers will be called to mourn the dead along with those who are paid to mourn.

"Mourn, people of Jerusalem; cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a funeral song on the hilltops, because I, the LORD, am angry and have rejected my people.

I said, "I will mourn for the mountains and weep for the pastures, because they have dried up, and no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard; birds and wild animals have fled and gone."

The LORD Almighty said, "Think about what is happening! Call for the mourners to come, for the women who sing funeral songs."

I said, "Listen to the LORD, you women, and pay attention to his words. Teach your daughters how to mourn, and your friends how to sing a funeral song.

The LORD told me to sing this song of sorrow for two princes of Israel:

The stem of the vine caught fire; fire burned up its branches and fruit. The branches will never again be strong, will never be royal scepters. This is a song of sorrow; it has been sung again and again.

They will sing this funeral song for you: The famous city is destroyed! Her ships have been swept from the seas. The people of this city ruled the seas And terrified all who lived on the coast.

"Mortal man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,

All your wealth of merchandise, All the sailors in your crew, Your ship's carpenters and your merchants, Every soldier on board the ship--- All, all were lost at sea When your ship was wrecked.

"Every ship is now deserted, And every sailor has gone ashore.

They shave their heads for you And dress themselves in sackcloth. Their hearts are bitter as they weep.

"Mortal man," he said, "grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were!

"Mortal man," he said, "give a solemn warning to the king of Egypt. Give him this message from me: You act like a lion among the nations, but you are more like a crocodile splashing through a river. You muddy the water with your feet and pollute the rivers.

This solemn warning will become a funeral song. The women of the nations will sing it to mourn for Egypt and all its people. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

When that time comes, people will use the story about you as an example of disaster, and they will sing this song of despair about your experience: We are completely ruined! The LORD has taken our land away And given it to those who took us captive."