² you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult^(A) and revelry?^(B)
Your slain^(C) were not killed by the sword,^(D)
    nor did they die in battle.

¹⁸ If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.^(A)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.^(B)’”

²⁰ “Look, Lord, and consider:
    Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,^(A)
    the children they have cared for?^(B)
Should priest and prophet be killed^(C)
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?^(D)

⁹ Those killed by the sword are better off
    than those who die of famine;^(A)
racked with hunger, they waste away
    for lack of food from the field.^(B)