15. They will say something new. They will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives—the Lord who brought the Israelites out of the northern land, who brought them out of all the countries where he had sent them ….’ Why will they say that? Because I will bring the Israelites back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.
16. “I will soon send for many fishermen to come to this land.” This message is from the Lord. “They will catch the people of Judah. After that happens, I will send for many hunters to come to this land. They will hunt the people of Judah on every mountain and hill and in the cracks of the rocks.
17. I see everything they do. The people of Judah cannot hide the things they do. Their sin is not hidden from me.
18. I will pay the people of Judah back for the evil things they did—I will punish them two times for every sin. I will do this because they have made my land ‘dirty.’ They made my land ‘dirty’ with their terrible idols. I hate those idols, but they have filled my country with their idols.”
19. Lord, you are my strength and my protection. You are a safe place to run to in time of trouble. The nations will come to you from all around the world. They will say, “Our fathers had false gods. They worshiped those worthless idols, but the idols did not help them.
20. Can people make real gods for themselves? No, they can only make statues that are not really gods.”