63 Bible Verses about Ruins

'And if for this ye hearken not to Me, and have walked with Me in opposition, then I have walked with you in the fury of opposition, and have chastised you, even I, seven times for your sins. 'And ye have eaten the flesh of your sons; even flesh of your daughters ye do eat.read more.
And I have destroyed your high places, and cut down your images, and have put your carcases on the carcases of your idols, and My soul hath loathed you; and I have made your cities a waste, and have made desolate your sanctuaries, and I smell not at your sweet fragrances; and I have made desolate the land, and your enemies, who are dwelling in it, have been astonished at it. And you I scatter among nations, and have drawn out after you a sword, and your land hath been a desolation, and your cities are a waste.

and all its spoil thou dost gather unto the midst of its broad place, and hast burned with fire the city and all its spoil completely, before Jehovah thy God, and it hath been a heap age-during, it is not built any more;

'Jehovah doth lift up against thee a nation, from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle it flieth; a nation whose tongue thou hast not heard, a nation -- fierce of countenance -- which accepteth not the face of the aged, and the young doth not favour; and it hath eaten the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, till thou art destroyed; which leaveth not to thee corn, new wine, and oil, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy flock, till it hath destroyed thee.read more.
'And it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, till thy walls come down, the high and the fenced ones in which thou art trusting, in all thy land; yea, it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, in all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given to thee;

And I make Jerusalem become heaps, A habitation of dragons, And the cities of Judah I make a desolation, Without inhabitant.

And I have set Samaria for a heap of the field, For plantations of a vineyard, And poured out into a valley her stones, And her foundations I uncover. And all her graven images are beaten down, And all her gifts are burnt with fire, And all her idols I make a desolation, For, from the hire of a harlot she gathered, and unto the hire of a harlot they return.

And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place. And I make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain. Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts Is the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.

And I say, 'Till when, O Lord?' And He saith, 'Surely till cities have been wasted without inhabitant, And houses without man, And the ground be wasted -- a desolation, And Jehovah hath put man far off, And great is the forsaken part in the heart of the land. And yet in it a tenth, and it hath turned, And hath been for a burning, As a teil-tree, and as an oak, that in falling, Have substance in them, The holy seed is its substance!'

Gone up hath a lion from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations hath journeyed, He hath come forth from his place To make thy land become a desolation, Thy cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.

And if ye do not hear these words, By myself I have sworn -- an affirmation of Jehovah, That this house is for a desolation.

In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works. And fallen hath the wounded in your midst, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this hath not been till the coming of Him, Whose is the judgment, and I have given it.

Hear ye and testify to the house of Jacob, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, God of Hosts. For in the day of My charging the transgressions of Israel on him, I have laid a charge on the altars of Beth-El, And cut off have been the horns of the altar, And they have fallen to the earth. And I have smitten the winter-house with the summer-house, And perished have houses of ivory, And consumed have been many houses, An affirmation of Jehovah!

And desolated have been high places of Isaac, And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted, And I have risen against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'

And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (it is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, come to Jerusalem, and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, yea, every great house he hath burned with fire; and the walls of Jerusalem round about have all the forces of the Chaldeans, who are with the chief of the executioners, broken down.read more.
And the rest of the people, those left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners removed; and of the poor of the land hath the chief of the executioners left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen. And the pillars of brass that are in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the sea of brass, that is in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken in pieces, and bear away their brass to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister they have taken, and the fire-pans, and the bowls that are wholly of silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken.

And He causeth to go up against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slayeth their chosen ones by the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and hath had no pity on young man and virgin, old man and very aged -- the whole He hath given into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king and of his princes -- the whole he hath brought in to Babylon. And they burn the house of God, and break down the wall of Jerusalem, and all its palaces they have burnt with fire, and all its desirable vessels -- to destruction.

And the house of the king, and the house of the people, have the Chaldeans burnt with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem they have broken down. And the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to him, and the remnant of the people who are left, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, removed to Babylon. And of the poor people, who have nothing, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left in the land of Judah, and he giveth to them vineyards and fields on the same day.

And in the fifth month, in the tenth of the month -- it is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon -- come hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners; he hath stood before the king of Babylon in Jerusalem, and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house he hath burned with fire, and all the walls of Jerusalem round about broken down have all the forces of the Chaldeans that are with the chief of the executioners.read more.
And of the poor of the people, and the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those who are falling away, who have fallen unto the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the multitude, hath Nebuzar-Adan chief of the executioners, removed; and of the poor of the land hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen. And the pillars of brass that are to the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brasen sea that is in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken, and they bear away all the brass of them to Babylon; and the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister, they have taken away; and the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups, the gold of that which is gold, and the silver of that which is silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken.

Hast rejected the covenant of Thy servant, Thou hast polluted to the earth his crown, Thou hast broken down all his hedges, Thou hast made his fenced places a ruin. Spoiled him have all passing by the way, He hath been a reproach to his neighbours,

Lift up Thy steps to the perpetual desolations, Everything the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary.

Why hast Thou broken down its hedges, And all passing by the way have plucked it? A boar out of the forest doth waste it, And a wild beast of the fields consumeth it. God of Hosts, turn back, we beseech Thee, Look from heaven, and see, and inspect this vine,read more.
And the root that Thy right hand planted, And the branch Thou madest strong for Thee, Burnt with fire -- cut down, From the rebuke of Thy face they perish.

And now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father, We are the clay, and Thou our Framer, And the work of Thy hand -- all of us. Be not wroth, O Jehovah, very sore, Nor for ever remember iniquity, Lo, look attentively, we beseech Thee, Thy people are we all. Thy holy cities have been a wilderness, Zion a wilderness hath been, Jerusalem a desolation.read more.
Our holy and our beautiful house, Where praise Thee did our fathers, Hath become burnt with fire, And all our desirable things have become a waste. For these dost Thou refrain Thyself, Jehovah? Thou art silent, and dost afflict us very sore!'

The Lord hath been as an enemy, He hath swallowed up Israel, He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed His fortresses, And He multiplieth in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning. And He shaketh as a garden His tabernacle, He hath destroyed His appointed place, Jehovah hath forgotten in Zion the appointed time and sabbath, And despiseth, in the indignation of His anger, king and priest. The Lord hath cast off His altar, He hath rejected His sanctuary, He hath shut up into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces, A noise they have made in the house of Jehovah Like a day of appointment.read more.
Devised hath Jehovah to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion, He hath stretched out a line, He hath not turned His hand from destroying, And He causeth bulwark and wall to mourn, Together -- they have been weak. Sunk into the earth have her gates, He hath destroyed and broken her bars, Her king and her princes are among the nations, There is no law, also her prophets Have not found vision from Jehovah.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Ye -- ye have seen all the evil that I have brought in on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah, and lo, they are a waste this day, and there is none dwelling in them, because of their wickedness that they have done, by provoking Me to anger, by going to make perfume, by serving other gods, that they knew not, they, ye, and your fathers. And I send unto you all my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending, saying: I pray you, do not this abomination that I have hated -- read more.
and they have not hearkened nor inclined their ear, to turn back from their wickedness, not to make perfume to other gods, and poured out is My fury, and Mine anger, and it burneth in cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, and they are for a waste, for a desolation, as at this day.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, Son of man, the inhabitants of these wastes on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying: Alone hath been Abraham -- and he possesseth the land, and we are many -- to us hath the land been given for a possession. Therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: With the blood ye do eat, And your eyes ye lift up unto your idols, And blood ye shed, and the land ye inherit!read more.
Ye have stood on your sword, Ye have done abomination, Each the wife of his neighbour ye have defiled, And the land ye possess! Thus dost thou say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live -- do not they who are in the wastes by the sword fall? And they who are on the face of the field, To the beast I have given for food, And they who are in strongholds and in caves by pestilence die. And I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And ceased hath the excellency of its strength, And desolated have been mountains of Israel, Without any one passing through. And they have known that I am Jehovah, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.

For Jehovah hath comforted Zion, He hath comforted all her wastes, And He setteth her wilderness as Eden, And her desert as a garden of Jehovah, Joy, yea, gladness is found in her, Confession, and the voice of song.

And they have built the wastes of old, The desolations of the ancients they raise up, And they have renewed waste cities, The desolations of generation and generation.

Thus said Jehovah, thy redeemer, And thy framer from the womb: 'I am Jehovah, doing all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, Spreading out the earth -- who is with Me? Making void the tokens of devisers, And diviners it maketh mad, Turning the wise backward, And their knowledge it maketh foolish. Confirming the word of His servant, The counsel of His messengers it perfecteth, Who is saying of Jerusalem, She is inhabited, And of cities of Judah, They shall be built, and her wastes I raise up,

And they have built out of thee the wastes of old, The foundations of many generations thou raisest up, And one calleth thee, 'Repairer of the breach, Restorer of paths to rest in.'

Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I turn back to the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And his dwelling places I pity, And the city hath been built on its heap, And the palace according to its ordinance remaineth. And gone forth from them hath thanksgiving, And the voice of playful ones, And I have multiplied them and they are not few, And made them honourable, and they are not small.

Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sown the house of Israel, And the house of Judah, With seed of man, and seed of beast. And it hath been, as I watched over them to pluck up, And to break down, and to throw down, And to destroy, and to afflict; So do I watch over them to build, and to plant, An affirmation of Jehovah.

And ye, O mountains of Israel, Your branch ye give out, and your fruits ye bear for My people Israel, For they have drawn near to come. For, lo, I am for you, and have turned to you, And ye have been tilled and sown. And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel -- all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built.read more.
And I have multiplied on you man and beast, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And ye have known that I am Jehovah. And I have caused man to walk over you, -- My people Israel, And they possess thee, and thou hast been to them for an inheritance, And thou dost add no more to bereave them.

In that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old. So that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah -- doer of this.

And the seventh month cometh, and the sons of Israel are in the cities, and the people are gathered, as one men, unto Jerusalem. And rise doth Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they build the altar of the God of Israel, to cause to ascend upon it burnt-offerings, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. And they establish the altar on its bases, because of the fear upon them of the peoples of the lands, and he causeth burnt-offerings to ascend upon it to Jehovah, burnt-offerings for the morning and for the evening.read more.
And they make the feast of the booths as it is written, and the burnt-offering of the day daily in number according to the ordinance, the matter of a day in its day; and after this a continual burnt-offering, and for new moons, and for all appointed seasons of Jehovah that are sanctified; and for every one who is willingly offering a willing-offering to Jehovah. From the first day of the seventh month they have begun to cause burnt-offerings to ascend to Jehovah, and the temple of Jehovah hath not been founded, and they give money to hewers and to artificers, and food, and drink, and oil to Zidonians and to Tyrians, to bring in cedar-trees from Lebanon unto the sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus king of Persia concerning them. And in the second year of their coming in unto the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appoint the Levites from a son of twenty years and upward, to overlook the work of the house of Jehovah. And Jeshua standeth, and his sons, and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, sons of Judah together, to overlook those doing the work in the house of God; the sons of Henadad, and their sons and their brethren the Levites. And those building have founded the temple of Jehovah, and they appoint the priests, clothed, with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Jehovah, by means of the instruments of David king of Israel. And they respond in praising and in giving thanks to Jehovah, for good, for to the age His kindness is over Israel, and all the people have shouted -- a great shout -- in giving praise to Jehovah, because the house of Jehovah hath been founded. And many of the priests, and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the aged men who had seen the first house -- in this house being founded before their eyes -- are weeping with a loud voice, and many with a shout, in joy, lifting up the voice; and the people are not discerning the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people are shouting -- a great shout -- and the noise hath been heard unto a distance.

and they say to me, 'Those left, who have been left of the captivity there in the province, are in great evil, and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burnt with fire.' And it cometh to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn for days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

And I come in unto Jerusalem, and I am there three days, and I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding. And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.read more.
And I pass over unto the gate of the fountain, and unto the pool of the king, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over, and I am going up through the brook by night, and am measuring about the wall, and turn back, and come in through the gate of the valley, and turn back. And the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared it; and I say unto them, 'Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem is waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.' And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, 'Let us rise, and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for good. And Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they mock at us, and despise us, and say, 'What is this thing that ye are doing? against the king are ye rebelling?' And I return them word, and say to them, 'The God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been by the hand of Haggai the prophet, unto Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and unto Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, saying: Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: This people! -- they have said, 'The time hath not come, The time the house of Jehovah is to be built.' And there is a word of Jehovah by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:read more.
Is it time for you -- you! To dwell in your covered houses, And this house to lie waste? And now, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Set your heart to your ways. Ye have sown much, and brought in little, To eat, and not to satiety, To drink, and not to drunkenness, To clothe, and none hath heat, And he who is hiring himself out, Is hiring himself for a bag pierced through. Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Set your heart to your ways. Go up the mountain, and ye have brought in wood, And build the house, and I am pleased with it. And I am honoured, said Jehovah. Looking for much, and lo, little, And ye brought it home, and I blew on it, Wherefore? -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Because of My house that is waste, And ye are running -- each to his house, Therefore, over you refrained have the heavens from dew, And the land hath refrained its increase. And I proclaim draught on the land, And on the mountains, and on the corn, And on the new wine, and on the oil, And on what the ground doth bring forth, And on man, and on beast, And on all labour of the hands.' And Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people, do hearken to the voice of Jehovah their God, and unto the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah their God had sent him, and the people are afraid of the face of Jehovah. And Haggai, messenger of Jehovah, in messages of Jehovah, speaketh to the people, saying: 'I am with you, an affirmation of Jehovah.' And Jehovah doth stir up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, and they come in, and do work in the house of Jehovah of Hosts their God, in the twenty and fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

And it hath come to pass, Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee, And hath said: 'Spoiled is Nineveh, Who doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?

And He stretcheth His hand against the north, And doth destroy Asshur, And he setteth Nineveh for a desolation, A dry land like a wilderness. And crouched in her midst have droves, Every beast of the nation, Both pelican and hedge-hog in her knobs lodge, A voice doth sing at the window, 'Destruction is at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.' This is the exulting city that is dwelling confidently, That is saying in her heart, 'I am, and beside me there is none,' How hath she been for a desolation, A crouching-place for beasts, Every one passing by her doth hiss, He doth shake his hand!

And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory, the excellency of the Chaldeans, Hath been as overthrown by God, With Sodom and with Gomorrah. She doth not sit for ever, Nor continueth unto many generations, Nor doth Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds lie not down there. And Ziim have lain down there, And full have been their houses of howlings, And dwelt there have daughters of an ostrich, And goats do skip there.read more.
And Aiim have responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And near to come is her time, And her days are not drawn out!

Lo, the land of the Chaldeans -- this people was not, Asshur founded it for the Ziim, They raised its watch-towers, They lifted up her palaces, -- He hath appointed her for a ruin!

And Babylon hath been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: 'Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and thou hast said to it: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, O mount Seir, And have stretched out My hand against thee, And made thee a desolation and an astonishment.read more.
Thy cities a waste I make, and thou art a desolation, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah.

I have loved you, said Jehovah, And ye have said, 'In what hast Thou loved us?' Is not Esau Jacob's brother? -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I love Jacob, and Esau I have hated, And I make his mountains a desolation, And his inheritance for dragons of a wilderness. Because Edom saith, 'We have been made poor, And we turn back and we build the wastes,' Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: They do build, and I do destroy, And men have called to them, 'O region of wickedness,' 'O people whom Jehovah defied to the age.'

Goods for removal make for thee, O inhabitant, daughter of Egypt, For Noph becometh a desolation, And hath been burnt up, without inhabitant.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am bringing in against thee a sword, And have cut off from thee man and beast. And the land of Egypt hath been for a desolation and a waste, And they have known that I am Jehovah. Because he said: The flood is mine, and I made it. Therefore, lo, I am against thee, and against thy floods, And have given the land of Egypt for wastes, A waste, a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, And unto the border of Cush.read more.
Not pass over into it doth a foot of man, Yea, the foot of beast doth not pass into it, Nor is it inhabited forty years. And I have made the land of Egypt a desolation, In the midst of desolate lands, And its cities, in the midst of waste cities, Are a desolation forty years, And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have dispersed them through lands.

Concerning Moab: 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been broken down.

For Gaza is forsaken, And Ashkelon is for a desolation, Ashdod! at noon they do cast her forth, And Ekron is rooted up. Ho! O inhabitants of the sea-coast, Nation of the Cherethites, A word of Jehovah is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines, And I have destroyed thee without an inhabitant. And the sea-coast hath been habitations, Cottages for shepherds, and folds for a flock.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, O Tyre, And have caused to come up against thee many nations, As the sea causeth its billows to come up. And they have destroyed the walls of Tyre, And they have broken down her towers, And I have scraped her dust from her, And made her for a clear place of a rock.

And it cometh to pass, at Israel's finishing to slay all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them (and they fall all of them by the mouth of the sword till their consumption), that all Israel turn back to Ai, and smite it by the mouth of the sword; and all who fall during the day, of men and of women, are twelve thousand -- all men of Ai. And Joshua hath not brought back his hand which he stretched out with the javelin till that he hath devoted all the inhabitants of Ai;read more.
only, the cattle and the spoil of that city have Israel spoiled for themselves, according to the word of Jehovah which He commanded Joshua. And Joshua burneth Ai, and maketh it a heap age-during -- a desolation unto this day; and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day.

And it cometh to pass, at the time of the turn of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers -- that Joab leadeth out the force of the host, and destroyeth the land of the sons of Ammon, and cometh in and beseigeth Rabbah -- David is abiding in Jerusalem -- and Joab smiteth Rabbah, and breaketh it down.

For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. It hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches. Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.read more.
Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah. Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil. Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field. The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons of men.

Lo, Jehovah is emptying the land, And is making it waste, And hath overturned it on its face, And hath scattered its inhabitants. And it hath been -- as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maid-servant so her mistress, As the buyer so the seller, As the lender so the borrower, As the usurer so he who is lifting it on himself. Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath spoken this word:read more.
Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they -- the high place of the people of the land. And the land hath been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a covenant age-during. Therefore a curse hath consumed the land, And the inhabitants in it are become desolate, Therefore consumed have been inhabitants of the land, And few men have been left. Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart. Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp. With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink to those drinking it. It was broken down -- a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance. A cry over the wine is in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land. Left in the city is desolation, And with wasting is the gate smitten. When thus it is in the heart of the land, In the midst of the peoples, As the compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath been finished,

Therefore by this is the iniquity of Jacob covered, And this is all the fruit -- To take away his sin, in His setting all the stones of an altar, As chalkstones beaten in pieces, They rise not -- shrines and images. For the fenced city is alone, A habitation cast out and forsaken as a wilderness, There doth the calf delight, And there it lieth down, And hath consumed its branches.

And the seventh messenger did pour out his vial to the air, and there came forth a great voice from the sanctuary of the heaven, from the throne, saying, 'It hath come!' and there came voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and a great earthquake came, such as came not since men came upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake -- so great! And it came -- the great city -- into three parts, and the cities of the nations did fall, and Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His anger,read more.
and every island did flee away, and mountains were not found, and great hail (as of talent weight) doth come down out of the heaven upon men, and men did speak evil of God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague is very great.

And one strong messenger did take up a stone as a great millstone, and did cast it to the sea, saying, 'Thus with violence shall Babylon be cast, the great city, and may not be found any more at all; and voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, may not be heard at all in thee any more; and any artisan of any art may not be found at all in thee any more; and noise of a millstone may not be heard at all in thee any more; and light of a lamp may not shine at all in thee any more; and voice of bridegroom and of bride may not be heard at all in thee any more; because thy merchants were the great ones of the earth, because in thy sorcery were all the nations led astray,

And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;

In the seventh year of Jehu reigned hath Jehoash, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Zibiah of Beer-Sheba, and Jehoash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days in which Jehoiada the priest directed him, only, the high places have not turned aside, still are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.read more.
And Jehoash saith unto the priests, 'All the money of the sanctified things that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, the money of him who is passing over, each the money of his valuation, all the money that it goeth up on the heart of a man to bring in to the house of Jehovah, do the priests take to them, each from his acquaintance, and they strengthen the breach of the house, in all places where there is found a breach.' And it cometh to pass, in the twenty and third year of king Jehoash, the priests have not strengthened the breach of the house, and king Jehoash calleth to Jehoiada the priest, and to the priests, and saith unto them, 'Wherefore are ye not strengthening the breach of the house? and now, receive no money from your acquaintances, but for the breach of the house give it.' And the priests consent not to receive money from the people, nor to strengthen the breach of the house, and Jehoiada the priest taketh a chest, and pierceth a hole in its lid, and putteth it near the altar, on the right side, as one cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and the priests keeping the threshold have put there all the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah. And it cometh to pass, at their seeing that the money is abundant in the chest, that there goeth up a scribe of the king, and of the high priest, and they bind it up, and count the money that is found in the house of Jehovah, and have given the weighed money into the hands of those doing the work, those inspecting the house of Jehovah, and they bring it out to those working in the wood, and to builders who are working in the house of Jehovah, and to those repairing the wall, and to hewers of stone, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the breach of the house of Jehovah, and for all that goeth out on the house, to strengthen it.

And it cometh to pass after this, it hath been with the heart of Joash to renew the house of Jehovah, and he gathereth the priests and the Levites, and saith to them, 'Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year, and ye, ye do haste to the matter;' and the Levites have not hasted. And the king calleth for Jehoiada the head, and saith to him, 'Wherefore hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tribute of Moses, servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?read more.
for sons of Athaliah, the wicked one, have broken up the house of God, and also, all the holy things of the house of Jehovah they have prepared for Baalim.' And the king speaketh, and they make one chest, and put it at the gate of the house of Jehovah without, and give an intimation in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring in to Jehovah the tribute of Moses, servant of God, laid on Israel in the wilderness. And all the heads, and all the people rejoice, and they bring in, and cast into the chest, unto completion. And it cometh to pass, at the time one bringeth in the chest for the inspection of the king by the hand of the Levites, and at their seeing that the money is abundant, that a scribe of the king hath come in, and an officer of the head-priest, and they empty the chest, and take it up and turn it back unto its place; thus they have done day by day, and gather money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada give it unto the doers of the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they are hiring hewers and artificers to renew the house of Jehovah, and also -- to artificers in iron and brass to strengthen the house of Jehovah. And those doing the business work, and there goeth up lengthening to the work by their hand, and they establish the house of God, by its proper measure, and strengthen it.

And it cometh to pass, in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying, 'Go up unto Hilkiah the high priest, and he doth complete the silver that is brought into the house of Jehovah, that the keepers of the threshold have gathered from the people, and they give it into the hand of the doers of the work, the overseers, in the house of Jehovah, and they give it to the doers of the work that is in the house of Jehovah, to strengthen the breach of the house,read more.
to artificers, and to builders, and to repairers of the wall, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the house; only, the silver that is given into their hand is not reckoned with them, for in faithfulness they are dealing.

And in the eighteenth year of his reign, to purify the land and the house he hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah head of the city, and Joah son of Johaz the remembrancer, to strengthen the house of Jehovah his God. And they come in unto Hilkiah the high priest, and they give the money that is brought in to the house of God, that the Levites, keeping the threshold, have gathered from the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they give it into the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the house of Jehovah, and they give it to the workmen who are working in the house of Jehovah, to repair and to strengthen the house;read more.
and they give it to artificers, and to builders, to buy hewn stones, and wood for couplings and for beams to the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men are working faithfully in the business, and over them are appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathite, to overlook; and of the Levites, every one understanding about instruments of song, and over the burden-bearers, and overseers of every one doing work for service and service; and of the Levites are scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.

A city broken down without walls, Is a man without restraint over his spirit!

For now, I have lain down, and am quiet, I have slept -- then there is rest to me, With kings and counsellors of earth, These building wastes for themselves.

For he hath covered his face with his fat, And maketh vigour over his confidence. And he inhabiteth cities cut off, houses not dwelt in, That have been ready to become heaps.