Proclaim these things to the house of Jacob, and let them be heard in the house of Judah.

Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? And he that has the word of the mouth of the Lord [addressed] to him, let him tell you why the land has been destroyed, [and] has been ravaged by fire like a desert, so that no one passes through it.

Hear the words of this covenant, and you shall speak to the men of Judah, and to the dwellers in Jerusalem.

Strengthen yourselves, you children of Benjamin, [to flee] out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sound an alarm with the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal over Beth Haccerem; for evil threatens from the north, and a great destruction is coming.

Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and you shall say to them, On whatsoever land I shall bring a sword, and the people of the land take a man from their territory, and set him for their watchman,

and he that hears the sound of the trumpet shall hear, and [yet] not take heed, and the sword shall come upon him, and overtake him, his blood shall be upon his [own] head.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming, and does not sound the trumpet, and the people do not watch; and the sword comes, and takes a soul from among them, that [soul] is taken because of its iniquity; but the blood [thereof] will I require at the watchman' hand.

[He shall come] into their midst as the land, as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant, and have sinned against My law.

Shall the trumpet sound in the city, and the people not be alarmed? Shall there be evil in a city which the Lord has not wrought?

A lion shall roar, and who will not be alarmed? The Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy?

Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the strong cities, and let us be cast out there: for God has cast us out, and made us drink water of gall, because we have sinned before Him.

And it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar came up against the land, that we said we would come in; and we entered into Jerusalem, for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Assyrians; and we dwelt there.

And it came to pass when Joshua and all Israel ceased destroying them utterly with a very great slaughter, that those that escaped took refuge in the strong cities.