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

The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹  He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster. ²