9. Should I not punish them for these things? This is the Lord’s declaration.Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
10. Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots,for they do not belong to the Lord.
11. They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,have dealt very treacherously with Me. This is the Lord’s declaration.
12. They have contradicted the Lordand insisted, “It won’t happen. Harm won’t come to us;we won’t see sword or famine.”
13. The prophets become only wind,for the Lord’s word is not in them.This will in fact happen to them.
14. Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:Because you have spoken this word,I am going to make My wordsbecome fire in your mouth. These people are the wood,and the fire will consume them.
15. I am about to bring a nationfrom far away against you, house of Israel.This is the Lord’s declaration.It is an established nation,an ancient nation,a nation whose language you do not knowand whose speech you do not understand.
16. Their quiver is like an open grave; they are all mighty warriors.
17. They will consume your harvest and your food. They will consume your sons and your daughters.They will consume your flocks and your herds.They will consume your vines and your fig trees.They will destroy with the swordyour fortified cities in which you trust.
18. “But even in those days” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “I will not finish you off.
19. When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us? ’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20. “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying: