16. Their arrow quivers are like open graves.They are all mighty warriors.
17. They will devour your harvest and your food.They will devour your sons and your daughters.They will devour your flocks and your cattle.They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees.With their swords they will destroythe fortified cities you trust.
18. Yet, even in those days, declares the Lord,I won’t destroy all of you.
19. They will ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” Answer them, “You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn’t yours.”
20. “Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:
21. Hear this, you stupid and senseless people!You have eyes, but you cannot see.You have ears, but you cannot hear.
22. Don’t you fear me?” asks the Lord.“Don’t you tremble in my presence?I made the sand a boundary for the sea,a permanent barrier that it cannot cross.Although the waves toss continuously,they can’t break through.Although they roar, they can’t cross it.
23. But these people are stubborn and rebellious.They have turned aside and wandered away from me.
24. They don’t say to themselves,‘We should fear the Lord our God.He sends rain at the right time,the autumn rain and the spring rain.He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.’
25. Your wickedness has turned these things away.Your sins have kept good things away from you.
26. “Wicked people are found among my people.They lie in ambush like bird catchers.They set traps and catch people.