15 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:I am going to feed these people bitternessand give them poison to drink.
16 I will scatter them among nationsthat they and their ancestors haven’t heard of.I will send armies after them until I’ve wiped them out.
17 This is what the Lord of Armies says:Consider this:Call for the women who cry at funerals.Send for those who are the most skilled.
18 They should come quickly and cry for us.Our eyes will run with tears.Our eyelids will flow with water.
19 The sound of crying is heard from Zion.“We’re ruined! We’re very ashamed.We must leave our land because our homes have been torn down.”
20 Listen to the word of the Lord, you women,and open your ears to hear his words.Teach your daughters how to cry.Teach your neighbors funeral songs.
21 Death has come through our windows and entered our palaces.Death has cut down the children in the streetsand the young men in the marketplaces.