24. They will be weak from hunger,ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.
25. Outside, the sword will take their children,and inside, there will be terror;the young man and the young woman will be killed,the infant and the gray-haired man.
26. “I would have said: I will cut them to pieces and blot out the memory of them from mankind,
27. if I had not feared insult from the enemy,or feared that these foes might misunderstandand say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed;it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’ ”
28. Israel is a nation lacking sensewith no understanding at all.
29. If only they were wise, they would figure it out;they would understand their fate.