Don’t announce the news in Gath, don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice and the pagans will laugh in triumph.
Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son. For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!
And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor,“ Is anyone else with you?” When the person begins to swear,“ No, by...,” he will interrupt and say,“ Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the Lord.”)