I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.’
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. They will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us! ’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us! ’
Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry out loudly and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let’s flee to the fortified cities.’
People will go into caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the Lord and from his majestic splendour, when he rises to terrify the earth.
They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God; they will stand in awe of you.
If they hide on the top of Carmel, from there I will track them down and seize them; if they conceal themselves from my sight on the sea floor, from there I will command the sea serpent to bite them.
I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep for ever and never wake up. This is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name.
Why are we just sitting here? Gather together; let’s enter the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has destroyed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
They let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said, ‘Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they’ve been hiding! ’
The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns.