They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.”

‘After this ¹  I ²  will return, and I will rebuild the fallen tent ³  of David; I will rebuild its ruins and restore ⁴  it,

In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins ¹  around them,

A king’s glory is ¹  the abundance of people, but the lack of subjects ²  is the ruin ³  of a ruler.

The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his life. ¹ 

The Righteous One ¹  considers ²  the house ³  of the wicked; he overthrows the wicked to their ruin. ⁴ 

for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, ¹  and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring? ² 

Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. ¹  It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives. ² 

The Lord said, ¹  “I will make Jerusalem ²  a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. ³  I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them.”

“In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut ¹  of David. I will seal its ²  gaps, repair its ³  ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. ⁴ 

They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ¹  and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²  Yet they are not concerned over ³  the ruin ⁴  of Joseph.

Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.

Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). ¹ 

Surely ¹  you put them in slippery places; you bring them down ²  to ruin.

A foolish child ¹  is the ruin of his father, and a contentious wife ²  is like ³  a constant dripping. ⁴ 

“I, the Lord, say: ¹  ‘This shows how ²  I will ruin the highly exalted position ³  in which Judah and Jerusalem ⁴  take pride.

On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals ¹  will walk ²  on its branches.

The crops of the fields ¹  have been destroyed. ²  The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished. The fresh wine has dried up; the olive oil languishes.

The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; ¹  you destroyed their cities; ²  all memory of the enemies has perished. ³ 

For I solemnly swear,” ¹  says the Lord, “that Bozrah ²  will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ³  All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”