3. Lord, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck your people down. But they didn't feel any pain. You crushed them. But they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to turn away from their sins.
4. I thought, "The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don't know how the Lord wants them to live. They don't know what their God requires of them.
5. So I will go to the leaders. I'll speak to them. They should know how the Lord wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them." But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.
6. So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will hide and wait near their towns. It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out. Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord. They have turned away from him many times.
7. The Lord says, "Jerusalem, why should I forgive you? Your people have deserted me. They have taken their oaths in the names of gods that are not really gods at all. I supplied everything they needed. But they committed adultery. Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.
8. Your people are like stallions that have plenty to eat. Their sinful longings are out of control. Each of them goes after another man's wife.
9. Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?
10. "Armies of Babylonia, go through their vineyards and destroy them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches. Those people do not belong to me.
11. The people of Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me at all," announces the Lord.
12. They have told lies about the Lord. They said, "He won't do anything! No harm will come to us. We will never see war or be hungry.
13. The prophets are nothing but wind. Their message doesn't come from the Lord. So let what they say will happen be done to them."
14. The Lord God rules over all. He says to me, "The people have spoken those words. So my words will be like fire in your mouth. I will make the people like wood. And the fire will burn them up."
15. "People of Israel, listen to me," announces the Lord. "I am bringing against you a nation from far away. It is an old nation. And it will last for a long time. Its people speak a language you do not know. You can't understand what they are saying.
16. The bags they carry their arrows in are like an open grave. All of their soldiers are mighty.
17. They will eat up your crops and your food. They will strike down your sons and daughters. They will kill your sheep and cattle. They will destroy your vines and fig trees. You trust in your cities that have high walls around them. But the people in them will be killed with swords.