5. Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me and told me to say: Thus says the Lord: This is how you talk, house of Israel. I know the things that come into your mind!
6. You have slain many in this city, filled its streets with the slain.
7. Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you piled up in it, that is the meat, the pot is the city. But you I will bring out of it.
8. You fear the sword—that sword I will bring upon you—oracle of the Lord God.
9. I will bring you out of the city, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments against you.
10. By the sword you shall fall. At the borders of Israel I will judge you so that you will know that I am the Lord.
11. The city shall not be a pot for you, nor shall you be meat within it. At the borders of Israel I will judge you,
12. so you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you did not follow, whose ordinances you did not keep. Instead, you acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.
13. While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, dropped dead. I fell down on my face and cried out in a loud voice: “Alas, Lord God! You are finishing off what remains of Israel!”
14. The word of the Lord came to me:
15. Son of man, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying about all your relatives, the other exiles, and all the house of Israel, “They are far away from the Lord. The land is given to us as a possession.”
16. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I have indeed sent them far away among the nations, scattered them over the lands, and have been but little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they have gone.