“The whole land shall be desolate;
^(A)Yet I will not make a full end.
²⁸ For this ^(B)shall the earth mourn,
And ^(C)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have ^(D)purposed and ^(E)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.

⁸ Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
^(A)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.

⁹ Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these ^(B)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the ^(C)field.