Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, ¹  those who think they possess understanding. ² 

So ¹  the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying, “This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying, “Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!” ² 

The filthy, ¹  stained city is as good as dead; the city filled with oppressors is finished! ² 

“You there! ¹  Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven ²  I have scattered you,” says the Lord.

He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they ¹  mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!”

Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, ¹  who pull sin as with cart ropes. ² 

Those who are champions ¹  at drinking wine are as good as dead, ²  who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, ¹  those who are always instituting unfair regulations, ² 

Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, ¹  a cudgel with which I angrily punish. ² 

The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹  the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

Danger awaits one who says ¹  to his father, “What in the world ²  are you fathering?” and to his mother, “What in the world are you bringing forth?” ³ 

The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead ¹  – he who starts ²  a town by unjust deeds.

“Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!” ¹ 

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ¹  the powerful ruler of Israel, ²  says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance ³  against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁴ 

Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, ¹  those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine. ² 

Ariel is as good as dead ¹  – Ariel, the town David besieged! ²  Keep observing your annual rituals, celebrate your festivals on schedule. ³ 

The Lord says, ¹  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ²  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ³ 

How long will you cry out, ¹  ‘Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? ²  Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!’ ³ 

Kill all her soldiers! ¹  Let them be slaughtered! ²  They are doomed, ³  for their day of reckoning ⁴  has come, the time for them to be punished.”

Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! ¹  She is full of lies; ²  she is filled with plunder; ³  she has hoarded her spoil! ⁴