1. Jerusalem, city of David,the place of my altar,you are in for trouble!Celebrate your festivalsyear after year.
2. I will still make you suffer,and your people will crywhen I make an altar of you.
3. I will surround you and prepareto attack from all sides.
4. From deep in the earth,you will call out for helpwith only a faint whisper.
5. Then your cruel enemieswill suddenly be swept awaylike dust in a storm.
6. I, the Lord All-Powerful,will come to your rescuewith a thundering earthquakeand a fiery whirlwind.
7. Every brutal nationthat attacks Jerusalemand makes it sufferwill disappear like a dreamwhen night is over.
8. Those nations that attackMount Zionwill suffer from hungerand thirst.They will dream of food and drinkbut wake up weary and hungryand thirsty as ever.
9. Be shocked and stunned,you prophets!Refuse to see.Get drunk and stagger,but not from wine.
10. The Lord has made you drowsy;he put you into a deep sleepand covered your head.
11. Now his message is like a sealed letter to you. Some of you say, “We can't read it, because it's sealed.”
12. Others say, “We can't read it, because we don't know how to read.”
13. The Lord has said:“These people praise mewith their words,but they never reallythink about me.They worship me by repeatingrules made up by humans.
14. So once again I will do thingsthat shock and amaze them,and I will destroy the wisdomof those who claim to knowand understand.”
15. You are in for trouble,if you try to hide your plansfrom the Lord!Or if you think what you doin the dark can't be seen.
16. You have it all backwards.A clay dish doesn't sayto the potter,“You didn't make me.You don't even know how.”