1"At that time"--this is the LORD's declaration--"the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.
2They will be exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky, which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the soil's surface.
3Death will be chosen over life by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them." This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
6I have paid careful attention. They do not speak what is right. No one regrets his evil, asking, 'What have I done?' Everyone has stayed his course like a horse rushing into battle.
7Even storks in the sky know their seasons. Turtledoves, swallows, and cranes are aware of their migration, but my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
10Therefore, I will give their wives to other men, their fields to new occupants, for from the least to the greatest, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
12Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably? They weren't at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I punish them, they will collapse," says the LORD.
13I will gather them and bring them to an end. This is the LORD's declaration. There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
14Why are we just sitting here? Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has destroyed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
16From Dan, the snorting of horses is heard. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all its residents.
19Listen--the cry of my dear people from a faraway land, "Is the LORD no longer in Zion, her King not within her?" Why have they angered me with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?