6. Here is a message the Lord gave me about the animals in the Negev Desert. Judah 's messengers carry their riches on the backs of donkeys. They carry their treasures on the humps of camels. They travel through a land of danger and suffering. It's a land that is filled with lions. Poisonous snakes are also there. The messengers travel to a nation that can't do them any good.
7. They travel to Egypt, whose help is totally useless. That's why I call it Rahab the Do-Nothing.
8. The Lord said to me, "Go now. Write on a tablet for the people of Judah what I am about to say. Also write it on a scroll. In days to come it will be a witness that lasts forever.
9. The people of Judah refuse to obey me. They are children who tell lies. They will not listen to what I want to teach them.
10. They say to the seers, 'Don't see any more visions!' They say to the prophets, 'Don't give us any more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things. Prophesy things we want to hear even if they aren't true.
11. Get out of our way! Get off our path! Keep the Holy One of Israel away from us!' "
12. So the Holy One of Israel speaks. He says, "You have turned your backs on what I have said. You have depended on telling people lies. You have crushed others.
13. Those sins are like cracks in a high wall. They get bigger and bigger. Suddenly the wall breaks apart. Then it quickly falls down.