5. unless they turn to me for help.Let them make peace with me;yes, let them make peace with me.”
6. The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.Israel will bud and blossomand fill the whole earth with fruit!
7. Has the lord struck Israelas he struck her enemies?Has he punished heras he punished them?
8. No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account.She was exiled from her landas though blown away in a storm from the east.
9. The lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness,to take away all her sin.As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust.No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.
10. The fortified towns will be silent and empty,the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds.Calves will graze there,chewing on twigs and branches.
11. The people are like the dead branches of a tree,broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots.Israel is a foolish and stupid nation,for its people have turned away from God.Therefore, the one who made themwill show them no pity or mercy.