Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means— an altar covered with blood.

我终必使亚利伊勒困难；她必悲伤哀号，我却仍以她为亚利伊勒。

我却要使亚利伊勒遭难；它必悲伤哀号，它对我是亚利伊勒。

我却要使亚利伊勒遭难；它必悲伤哀号，它对我是亚利伊勒。

我还是要叫你受苦。你必悲伤哀号，在我面前成为一座祭坛。

我却要使亚利伊勒受困苦，成了一座充满悲伤哀号的城，我要以它为亚利伊勒。

我还是要使亚利伊勒受困苦，那里必有悲伤和哀哭；它对我必像是祭坛的炉膛。

我終必使亞利伊勒困難；她必悲傷哀號，我卻仍以她為亞利伊勒。

我卻要使亞利伊勒遭難；它必悲傷哀號，它對我是亞利伊勒。

我卻要使亞利伊勒遭難；它必悲傷哀號，它對我是亞利伊勒。

我還是要叫你受苦。你必悲傷哀號，在我面前成為一座祭壇。

我卻要使亞利伊勒受困苦，成了一座充滿悲傷哀號的城，我要以它為亞利伊勒。

我終要使亞利伊勒受窘迫；那裏雖有傷悲哀傷，我卻仍以她為上帝之祭壇火盆。

我還是要使亞利伊勒受困苦，那裡必有悲傷和哀哭；它對我必像是祭壇的爐膛。

我必困苦亞利伊勒、使有哀哭悲慘、然於我仍為亞利伊勒、

我於亞列降以災害、試以患難、厄以憂愁、而其邑尚存、

我終使亞利伊勒遭遇患難、必哀歎悲慘、然仍使如人不能勝之英雄、然仍使如人不能勝之英雄原文作彼將如亞利伊勒於我前

Yet I will besiege Ariel; she will mourn and lament, she will be to me like an altar hearth.

The Lord says,“ Ariel, I will surround you. Jerusalem, I will get ready to attack you. Your people will mourn. They will sing songs of sadness. I will make you like the front of an altar covered with blood.

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel.

I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to me like an Ariel.

I will bring distress to Ariel, And she will be a city of grieving and mourning; And she will be like an Ariel to me.

Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, And it shall be to Me as Ariel.

then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel.

I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel.

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

I will threaten Ariel, and she will mourn intensely and become like an altar hearth before me.

then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to me as an altar hearth.

That is why the Lord’s anger burns against his people, and why he has raised his fist to crush them. The mountains tremble, and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage. But even then the Lord’s anger is not satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike!He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing toward Jerusalem.They will not get tired or stumble. They will not stop for rest or sleep. Not a belt will be loose, not a sandal strap broken.Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle. Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves, and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.They will roar like lions, like the strongest of lions. Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off, and no one will be there to rescue them.They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction like the roaring of the sea. If someone looks across the land, only darkness and distress will be seen; even the light will be darkened by clouds.

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners.“ On that day of judgment,” says the Lord,“ I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs.

In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder us, a fitting end for those who destroy us.

“ What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger. I use it as a club to express my anger.I am sending Assyria against a godless nation, against a people with whom I am angry. Assyria will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet.

Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it.The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods.Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord.“ From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.“ The sins of Israel and Judah— the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets— have stirred up my anger.

The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat— with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky:“ Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared.Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

The enemy stops at Nob for the rest of that day. He shakes his fist at beautiful Mount Zion, the mountain of Jerusalem.

But now your brave warriors weep in public. Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.Your roads are deserted; no one travels them anymore. The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses. They have no respect for anyone.The land of Israel wilts in mourning. Lebanon withers with shame. The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.

They told him,“ This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby.

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.But the Babylonian troops chased them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord:“ Put a pot on the fire, and pour in some water.Fill it with choice pieces of meat— the rump and the shoulder and all the most tender cuts.Use only the best sheep from the flock, and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, and cook the bones along with the meat.“ Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! She is a cooking pot whose corruption can’t be cleaned out. Take the meat out in random order, for no piece is better than another.For the blood of her murders is splashed on the rocks. It isn’t even spilled on the ground, where the dust could cover it!So I will splash her blood on a rock for all to see, an expression of my anger and vengeance against her.“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.Yes, heap on the wood! Let the fire roar to make the pot boil. Cook the meat with many spices, and afterward burn the bones.Now set the empty pot on the coals. Heat it red hot! Burn away the filth and corruption.But it’s hopeless; the corruption can’t be cleaned out. So throw it into the fire.Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your filth until my fury against you has been satisfied.

Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people.Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors— none will be spared.The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away.The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent.Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders.Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land.The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.

“ And now, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call all the birds and wild animals. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat flesh and drink blood!

So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”