²⁷ Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(A)As I live, surely those who are in ^(B)the waste places shall fall by ^(C)the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to ^(D)the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in ^(E)strongholds and in caves shall die by ^(F)pestilence.

^22 (A)Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(A)in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns,

^4 (A)You shall fall on ^(B)the mountains of Israel, you and all your ^(C)hordes and the peoples who are with you. ^(D)I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

^24 (A)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ^(B)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ^(C)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but ^(D)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’

¹¹ Thus says the Lord God: ^(A)“Clap your hands ^(B)and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, ^(C)for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ^12 (D)He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. ^(E)Thus I will spend my fury upon them. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(F)when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, ^(G)on every high hill, ^(H)on all the mountaintops, ^(I)under every green tree, and under ^(J)every leafy oak, wherever ^(K)they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. ¹⁴ And ^(L)I will stretch out my hand against them and ^(M)make the land desolate and waste, ^(N)in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to ^(O)Riblah.^[a] Then ^(P)they will know that I am the Lord.”

^12 (A)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; ^(B)a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; ^(C)and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

^13 (D)“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that ^(E)I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—^(F)when I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you ^(G)a desolation and ^(H)an object of reproach among ^(I)the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. ¹⁵ You shall be^[a] a reproach and a taunt, a warning ^(J)and a horror, to ^(K)the nations all around you, ^(L)when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and ^(M)with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— ¹⁶ when I send against you^{[b] (N)}the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon ^(O)you and break your supply^[c] of bread. ¹⁷ I will send famine and ^(P)wild beasts against you, ^(Q)and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and ^(R)blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

¹² I will take the remnant of Judah who have ^(A)set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. ^(B)In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine ^(C)they shall be consumed. ^(D)From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, ^(E)and they shall become an oath, a horror, ^(F)a curse, and a taunt.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with^[a] Gedaliah was the large cistern that ^(A)King Asa had made for defense against ^(B)Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.