Wail, O city gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, all you Philistines! For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.

For the waters of Nimrim are gone; the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants.

Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect.

Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.