21. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will lay before this peoplestumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;fathers and sons together,neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22. Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country,a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23. They lay hold on bow and javelin;they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea;they ride on horses,set in array as a man for battle,against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24. We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless;anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
25. Go not out into the field,nor walk on the road,for the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
26. O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth,and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son,most bitter lamentation,for suddenly the destroyerwill come upon us.
27. “I have made you a tester of metals among my people,that you may know and test their ways.
28. They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders;they are bronze and iron;all of them act corruptly.
29. The bellows blow fiercely;the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on,for the wicked are not removed.
30. Rejected silver they are called,for the Lord has rejected them.”