³ For this is what the Lord says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land: ⁴ They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the soil’s surface.^(A) They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^(B)

⁵ “For this is what the Lord says: Don’t enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place.^[a] Don’t go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed my peace from these people as well as my faithful love and compassion.” This is the Lord’s declaration.^(C)