And to speakunto the priestswhichwere in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifthmonth, separatingmyself, as I havedonethese so manyyears?
Speakunto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventhmonth, eventhoseseventyyears, did ye at all fastunto me, even to me?
Should ye not hear the wordswhich the LORDhathcried by the formerprophets, whenJerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the citiesthereofroundabout her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
Yea, theymadetheirhearts as an adamantstone, lesttheyshouldhear the law, and the wordswhich the LORD of hostshathsent in his spirit by the formerprophets: thereforecame a greatwrathfrom the LORD of hosts.
But I scatteredthemwith a whirlwindamong all the nationswhomtheyknew not. Thus the land was desolateafterthem, that no man passedthrough nor returned: for theylaid the pleasantlanddesolate.