16. Thus says the Lord:“Stand in the ways and see,And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,And walk in it;Then you will find rest for your souls.But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17. Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18. Therefore hear, you nations,And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19. Hear, O earth!Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—The fruit of their thoughts,Because they have not heeded My wordsNor My law, but rejected it.
20. For what purpose to MeComes frankincense from Sheba,And sweet cane from a far country?Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”
21. Therefore thus says the Lord:“Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”
22. Thus says the Lord:“Behold, a people comes from the north country,And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.