17. I chose watchmen to watch over you. I told them, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet.’ But they said, ‘We will not listen!’
18. So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you people in those countries.
19. Hear this, people of the earth: I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah because of all the evil they planned, and because they ignored my messages. They refused to obey my law.
20. “Why do you bring me incense from the country of Sheba? Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway country? Your burnt offerings don’t make me happy. Your sacrifices don’t please me.”
21. So this is what the Lord says: “I will give the people of Judah problems. They will be like stones that make people fall. Fathers and sons will stumble over them. Friends and neighbors will die.”
22. This is what the Lord says: “An army is coming from the north. A great nation is coming from faraway places on earth.
23. The soldiers carry bows and spears. They are cruel; they have no mercy. They are so powerful. They sound like the roaring ocean as they ride their horses. That army is coming, ready for battle. It is coming to attack you, Jerusalem.”
24. We have heard the news about that army, and we are paralyzed with fear. We feel trapped by our troubles, in pain like a woman giving birth.
25. Don’t go out into the fields. Don’t go on the roads because the enemy has swords, and there is danger everywhere.
26. My people, put on sackcloth and roll in the ashes. Cry loudly for the dead. Cry as if you lost an only son. Do this because the destroyer will come against us very quickly.