7. But here’s what’s really coming:a forced march into exile.They’ll leave the country whining,a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.
8. God, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word.The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:“I hate the arrogance of Jacob.I have nothing but contempt for his forts.I’m about to hand over the cityand everyone in it.”
9-10. Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, “Are there any more?” The answer: “Not a soul. But hush! God must not be mentioned in this desecrated place.”
11. Note well: God issues the orders.He’ll knock large houses to smithereens.He’ll smash little houses to bits.
12-13. Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks?Do you plow the sea with oxen?You’d cripple the horsesand drown the oxen.And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice,a bloated corpse of righteousness,Bragging of your trivial pursuits,beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!”
14. “Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites.I’ve got a pagan army on the move against you”—this is your God speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“And they’ll make hash of you,from one end of the country to the other.”