8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,

and you looked in that dayz

to the weaponsa in the Palace of the Forest.b

9 You saw that the walls of the City of David

were broken throughc in many places;

you stored up water

in the Lower Pool.d

10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem

and tore down housese to strengthen the wall.f

11 You built a reservoir between the two wallsg

for the water of the Old Pool,h

but you did not look to the One who made it,

or have regardi for the One who plannedj it long ago.

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,

called you on that dayk

to weepl and to wail,

to tear out your hairm and put on sackcloth.n

13 But see, there is joy and revelry,o

slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,

eating of meat and drinking of wine!p

“Let us eat and drink,” you say,

“for tomorrow we die!”q

14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:r “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoneds for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.