Once he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant, sow the seed of the cumin plant, and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? ¹ 

So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. ¹  He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, ²  nor will he build siege works against it.

I have stirred up one out of the north ¹  and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ²  He steps on ³  rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.

“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin ¹  daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Then you will think to yourself, ¹  ‘Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. ²  Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?’”

I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ¹  who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’ You made your back like the ground, and like the street for those who walked over you.”

My hand made them; ¹  that is how they came to be,” ²  says the Lord. I show special favor ³  to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say. ⁴ 

So,” the Lord God ¹  says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. ²  It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. ³  And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”

So, watch out!” ¹  says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley ²  the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. ³ 

“I, the Lord, say: ¹  ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? ²  In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’

The Lord says, ¹  “As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, ²  king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you. ³ 

But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel ¹  from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished ²  them.” ³  At that time they will live in their own land.’”

‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’ ² 

ט (Tet) Her city gates have fallen ¹  to the ground; he smashed to bits ²  the bars that lock her gates. ³  Her king and princes were taken into exile; ⁴  there is no more guidance available. ⁵  As for her prophets, they no longer receive ⁶  a vision from the Lord.

ש (Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women ¹  and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; ²  you slaughtered them without mercy. ³ 

He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, ¹  for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ² 

I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ¹  and you will know that I am the Lord.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘I will take a sprig ¹  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ²  I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground. The east wind ¹  dried up its fruit; its strong branches broke off and withered – a fire consumed them.

All the princes of the sea will vacate ¹  their thrones. They will remove their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes; they will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground; they will tremble continually and be shocked at what has happened to you. ²