Set apart a fast; call a solemn gathering; gather the elders and all the people of the land into the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to the Lord,

Blow a trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment],
Dedicate a fast [as a day of restraint and humility], call a solemn assembly.

For a nation has invaded our land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. Their teeth are like those of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness.

Like the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains, they leap; like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

Yea, they have cast lots for my people, the young men have they set in the brothel house, and sold the damsels for wine, that they might have to drink.