9. The Lord took his people as his share,the people of Jacob as his very own.
10. He found them in a desert,a windy, empty land.He surrounded them and brought them up,guarding them as those he loved very much.
11. He was like an eagle building its nestthat flutters over its young.It spreads its wings to catch themand carries them on its feathers.
12. The Lord alone led them,and there was no foreign god helping him.
13. The Lord brought them to the heights of the landand fed them the fruit of the fields.He gave them honey from the rocks,bringing oil from the solid rock.
14. There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the flock;there were fat sheep and goats.There were sheep and goats from Bashanand the best of the wheat.You drank the juice of grapes.
15. Israel grew fat and kicked;they were fat and full and firm.They left the God who made themand rejected the Rock who saved them.
16. They made God jealous with foreign godsand angry with hateful idols.
17. They made sacrifices to demons, not God,to gods they had never known,new gods from nearby,gods your ancestors did not fear.
18. You left God who is the Rock, your Father,and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19. The Lord saw this and rejected them;his sons and daughters had made him angry.
20. He said, “I will turn away from themand see what will happen to them.They are evil people,unfaithful children.
21. They used things that are not gods to make me jealousand worthless idols to make me angry.So I will use those who are not a nation to make them jealous;I will use a nation that does not understand to make them angry.
22. My anger has started a firethat burns down to the place of the dead.It will burn up the ground and its crops,and it will set fire to the base of the mountains.
23. “I will pile troubles upon themand shoot my arrows at them.
24. They will be starved and sick,destroyed by terrible diseases.I will send them vicious animalsand gliding, poisonous snakes.