18. Therefore, pay attention, nations;take notice, assembly,what is ahead of them.
19. Pay attention, earth:I’m bringing disaster upon my people,the fruit of their own devices,because they have ignored my wordsand they have rejected my teaching.
20. What use to me is incense from Shebaor sweet cane from a faraway land?Your entirely burned offerings won’t buy your pardon;your sacrifices won’t appease me.
21. Therefore, the Lord proclaims:I’m putting obstacles before this people,and both parents and children will stumble over them;neighbor and friend alike will perish.
22. The Lord proclaims:An army is on the movefrom the northern regions;a great nation is rousedfrom the ends of the earth.
23. Equipped with bow and spear,they are cruel;they show no mercy.Their horsemen soundlike the roaring sea,arrayed in battle formationagainst you, Daughter Zion.
24. We have heard reports of themand are panic-stricken;distress overwhelms us,pain like that of a woman in labor.
25. Don’t go out into the field!Don’t walk on the road!The enemies’ swordterrorizes at every turn.
26. My people,put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes;weep and wail as for an only child,because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us.
27. I have made you a tester of metals,to examine my peopleto know and prove their ways.
28. They are tin and iron;they are headstrong and rebellious.They live to slander.They act corruptly—every last one!
29. The bellows roar;the lead is consumed.Yet the refining fails;the impurities remain.
30. They are called "rejected silver,"for the Lord has rejected them.