1 »Suffer you unwilling children,« says Jehovah. »You pursue a purpose that is not mine. You make a covenant sacrifice without my Spirit. You add sin to sin.
2 »You go to Egypt for help without asking for my advice. You want Egypt to protect you. You put your trust in Egypt's military might.
3 »The safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 »Their princes are at Zoan and their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 »Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot help them. They cannot help. They can only offer shame and reproach.«
6 THE PROPHESY ABOUT THE BEASTS OF THE NEGEV southern land: The Negev is a land of distress and anguish. Lions and lionesses live there. Vipers and poisonous snakes live there. They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels to a nation that cannot help them.
7 Egypt's help is completely useless. That is why I call her: »Rahab, who sits still.« defamatory word for Egyptnegative connotation
8 Write this on a tablet for them, and inscribe it in a book so that it will be there in the future as a permanent witness.
9 These people are rebellious and deceitful children. They refuse to listen to Jehovahs Law.
10 They say to the seers: »Do not see the future.« They say to those who have visions: Do not have visions that tell us what is right. Tell us what we want to hear. Prophesy illusions.
11 »Get out of our way! Stop blocking our path! Get the Holy One of Israel out of our sight.«
12 This is what the Holy One of Israel says: »You have rejected this warning, trusted oppression and deceit, and you leaned upon them for support.
13 »For that reason your sin will be like a high wall with a bulging crack, ready to fall. All of a sudden it will fall.
14 »It will break like pottery. It will be smashed. Nothing will be left of it. No piece will be big enough to carry live coals from a fireplace or to dip water from a reservoir.«
15 The Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, says: »Return to me and be saved. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me.« But you do not want that!
16 You have said: »No, we will flee on horses.« So you flee. You added: »We will ride on fast horses.« So those who chase you will also be fast.
17 One thousand people will flee when one person threatens them. You will flee when five threaten you. Then you will be left alone like a flagpole on top of a mountain, like a signpost on a hill.
18 Jehovah is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. Jehovah is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 You will live in Zion, in Jerusalem. You will not cry anymore. Jehovah will certainly have pity on you when you cry for help. As soon as he hears you, he will answer you.
20 Jehovah may give you troubles and hardships. But your Teacher Grand Instructor will no longer be hidden from you. You will see your Teacher with your own eyes.
21 You will hear a voice behind you say: »This is the way. Walk in it,« whether it turns to the right or to the left.
22 Then you will dishonor your silver-plated idols and your gold-covered statues. You will throw them away like clothing ruined by stains. You will say to them: »Get out!«
23 Jehovah will give you rain for the seed that you plant in the ground, and the food that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. When that day comes, your cattle will graze in large pastures.
24 The cattle and the donkeys that work the soil will eat a mixture of food that has been winnowed with forks and shovels.
25 Brooks and streams will be on every lofty mountain and every high hill. When the day of the great slaughter comes, towers will fall.
26 Then the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun. The light of the sun will be seven times as strong, like the light of seven days. When that day comes, Jehovah will bandage his people's injuries and heal the wounds he inflicted.
27 The name of Jehovah is going to come from far away. His anger is burning. His burden is heavy. His lips are filled with fury. His tongue is like a devouring flame.
28 His breath is like an overflowing stream. It raises neck high and sifts the nations with a sieve of destruction. It places a bit in the mouths of the people to lead them astray.
29 You will sing a song like the song you sing on a festival night. Your hearts will be happy like someone going out with a flute on the way to Jehovahs mountain, to the rock of Israel.
30 Jehovah will make his majestic voice heard. He will come with all his might, with furious anger, with firestorms, windstorms, rainstorms, and hailstones.
31 The people of Assyria will be shattered at the sound of Jehovahs voice. He will strike them with his rod.
32 To the sound of tambourines and lyres, Jehovah will pound on them. He will fight them in battle, swinging his fists displaying his power.
33 Topheth was prepared long ago. It was made ready for the king. It was made deep and wide and piled high with plenty of burning logs. Jehovahs breath will be like a flood of burning sulfur, setting it on fire.