1 Jerusalem , how terrible it will be for you! Ariel, you are the city where David settled. The years will come and go. Keep on celebrating your regular feasts.
2 The Lord says, "Ariel, I will surround you. Jerusalem , I will get ready to attack you. Your people will sob. They will sing songs of sadness. I will make you like the front of an altar that is covered with blood.
3 I will be like an army that is camped against you on all sides. I will surround you with towers in order to attack you. I will build my ramps all around you and set up my ladders.
4 You will be brought down to the grave. You will speak from deep down inside the ground. Your words will be barely heard out of the dust. Your voice will sound like the voice of a ghost coming from under the ground. Your words will sound like a whisper out of the dust."
5 Jerusalem , all of your enemies will become like fine dust. Their terrifying armies will become like straw that the wind blows away. All of a sudden, in an instant,
6 the Lord who rules over all will come. He will come with thunder, earthquakes and a lot of noise. He'll bring windstorms and rainstorms with him. He'll send a blazing fire that will burn everything up.
7 Armies from all of the nations will fight against Ariel. They will attack it and its fort. They'll surround it completely. But suddenly those armies will disappear like a dream. They will vanish like a vision in the night.