The king of Assyria will lead away both the young and the old—captives from Egypt and exiles from Sudan. They will be barefoot and naked. Their buttocks will be exposed in order to disgrace Egypt.
Now then, listen to this, you lover of pleasure. You live securely and say to yourself, “I’m the only one, and there’s no one else. I won’t live as a widow. I won’t suffer the loss of children.”
The people they prophesy to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem. They will be victims of famines and wars. No one will bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters. I will pour on them the destruction that they deserve.
They will ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” Answer them, “You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn’t yours.”
Jerusalem has sinned so much that it has become a filthy thing. Everyone who used to honor it now despises it. They’ve seen it naked. Jerusalem groans and turns away.
If she refuses, I will strip her. I will leave her as naked as the day she was born. I will turn her into a dry and barren land, and she will die of thirst.
Their mother acted like a prostitute. The woman who became pregnant with them did shameful things. She said, ‘I’ll chase after my lovers. They will give me food and water, wool and linen, olive oil and wine.’
“I am against you, Nineveh,” declares the Lord of Armies. “I will lift up your dress over your face. I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.
“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are satisfied with their hardened lifestyle, who think that the Lord won’t do anything—good or bad.