10. The Lord commanded the enemy,“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them.But do not destroy them completely.Strip off their branchesfor these people do not belong to the Lord.
11. For the nations of Israel and Judahhave been very unfaithful to me,”says the Lord.
12. “These people have denied what the Lord says.They have said, ‘That is not so!No harm will come to us.We will not experience war and famine.
13. The prophets will prove to be full of wind.The Lord has not spoken through them.So, let what they say happen to them.’”
14. Because of that, the Lord, the God who rules over all, said to me,“Because these people have spoken like this,I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.And I will make this people like wood which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”
15. The Lord says, “Listen, nation of Israel!I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.It will be a nation that was founded long agoand has lasted for a long time.It will be a nation whose language you will not know.Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
16. All of its soldiers are strong and mighty.Their arrows will send you to your grave.
17. They will eat up your crops and your food.They will kill off your sons and your daughters.They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.Their weapons will batter downthe fortified cities you trust in.
18. Yet even then I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord.
19. “So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20. “Proclaim this message among the descendants of Jacob.Make it known throughout Judah.
21. Tell them: ‘Hear this,you foolish people who have no understanding,who have eyes but do not discern,who have ears but do not perceive:
22. “You should fear me!” says the Lord.“You should tremble in awe before me!I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,a permanent barrier that it can never cross.Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.”
23. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.They have turned aside and gone their own way.