12. As for Israel, the Arameans are in front of him and the Philistines are behind him. And they are both eating away at him. But the Lord is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing Israel.
13. The people did not stop sinning. They did not come to the Lord All-Powerful for help.
14. So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail. He took away the branch and the stalk in one day.
15. (The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.)
16. Their guides are leading them the wrong way, so those who follow them will be destroyed.
17. All of them are evil. So the Lord is not happy with the young men, and he will not show mercy to their widows and orphans. That is because they are evil hypocrites. They tell lies. The Lord has punished them, but he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.
18. That evil was like a small fire that started among the weeds and thorns and then spread to the larger bushes in the forest. Finally, it became a giant fire, and everything went up in smoke.
19. The Lord All-Powerful was angry, so the land was burned. The people were fuel for the fire. No one showed any compassion to anyone else.
20. People looked to the right and grabbed whatever they could, but they were still hungry. They grabbed whatever was on their left, but still they were not satisfied. So they turned on themselves and began to eat the bodies of their own children.
21. Manasseh fought against Ephraim, and Ephraim fought against Manasseh. Then both of them turned on Judah. But the Lord is not finished punishing his people. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing them.