'City' in the Bible

The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is left like a [deserted] shelter in a vineyard,Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city [isolated, surrounded by devastation].

How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],She who was full of justice!Right standing with God once lodged in her,But now murderers.

“Then I will restore your judges as at the first,And your counselors as at the beginning;Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness,The faithful city.”

They have gone through the pass, saying,“Geba will be our lodging place for the night.”Ramah trembles, and Gibeah [the city] of Saul has fled.

Yet today the Assyrian will halt at Nob [the city of priests];He shakes his fist at the mountain of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.

that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,“How the oppressor has ceased [his insolence],And how the fury has ceased!

“Howl, O gate; cry, O city!Melt away, O Philistia, all of you;For smoke comes out of the north,And there is no straggler in his ranks and no one stands detached [in Hezekiah’s battalions].

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel’s defense against Assyria].“Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a cityAnd will become a fallen ruin.

“So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor,City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of Destruction.

You [Jerusalem] who were full of noise,A tumultuous city, a joyous and exuberant city;Your slain were not slain [in a glorious death] with the sword,Nor did they die in battle.

You saw that the breachesIn the wall of the City of David [the citadel of Zion] were many;You collected [within the city’s walls] the waters of the Lower Pool (Siloam).

Then you counted the houses of JerusalemAnd you tore down the houses [to get materials] to fortify the city wall [by extending it].

Is this your jubilant city,Whose origin dates back to antiquity,Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places?

Take a harp, walk around the city,O forgotten prostitute;Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,That you may be remembered.

The city of chaos is broken down;Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.

Horrible desolation is left in the city,And the gate is battered into ruins.

For You have made a city into a heap [of trash],A fortified city into a ruin;A palace of foreigners is no longer a city,It will never be rebuilt.

Therefore a strong people will honor You;Cities of terrible and violent nations will fear You.

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:“We have a strong city;He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts.

“For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust.

For the fortified city is isolated,A settlement deserted and abandoned like the desert;There the calf will graze,And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.

Woe (judgment is coming) to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David [once] camped!Add yet another year; let the feasts run their course [but only one year more].

Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars—Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.

For the palace has been abandoned, the populated city deserted;The hill [of the city] and the watchtower have become caves [for wild animals] forever,A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

But it will hail, when the forest comes down,And the [capital] city will fall in utter humiliation.

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts and observances;Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a undisturbed settlement,A tent which will not be taken down;Not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up,Nor any of its ropes be severed.

nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will most certainly rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah [a fortified city of Judah], for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, [the king of] Hena, or [the king of] Ivvah?’”

“Therefore, the Lord says this concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with shield, or raise an assault ramp against it.

By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,’ declares the Lord.

‘For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city [Jerusalem].”’

“I have stirred up Cyrus and put him into action in righteousness [to accomplish My purpose]And I will make all his ways smooth;He will build My city and let My exiles go,Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

“For they call themselves [citizens of Jerusalem] after the holy cityAnd depend on the God of Israel;The Lord of hosts is His name.

These two tragedies have befallen you;Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you?The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants];How shall I comfort you?

Awake, awake,Put on your strength, O Zion;Put on your beautiful garments,O Jerusalem, the holy city;For the uncircumcised and the uncleanWill no longer come into you.

“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,And lay your foundations with sapphires.

“The sons of those who oppressed you will come bowing down to you [in submission],And all those who despised you and treated you disrespectfully will bow down at the soles of your feet,And they will call you the City of the Lord,The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

And they will call them “The Holy People,The Redeemed of the Lord”;And you will be called “Sought Out, A City Not Deserted.”

“The sound of an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple!The voice of the Lord, providing retribution to His enemies.