Everyone who finds them eats them. Their enemies say, ‘We’re not guilty. They have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture. They have sinned against the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
I was angry with my people. I dishonored those who belong to me. I put them under your control. You showed them no mercy. You placed a heavy burden on old people.
the Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west. They will devour Israel with open mouths. Even after all this, his anger will not disappear, and he is still ready to use his power.
Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t know you and on people who don’t worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.
You are Israel’s hope, the one who saves it in times of trouble. Why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only one night?
O Lord, the Hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in dust, because they abandon the Lord, the fountain of life-giving water.
Israel was set apart for the Lord. It was the best part of the harvest. All who devoured it became guilty, and disaster struck them,’ ” declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: When I have brought them back from captivity, they will once again use this saying in Judah and in its cities: “The Lord bless you, home of righteousness, holy mountain.
They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.
“Take up your positions around Babylon, all you archers with bows. Shoot at it; don’t save any arrows, because the people of Babylon have sinned against the Lord.
“The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
This is what the Lord of Armies says: All the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. All their enemies have captured them. They refuse to let them go.
Then you will know that I, the Lord, heard all the insults that you spoke about the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been deserted and handed over to us to use up.”
Lord, since you are very righteous, turn your anger and fury away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Jerusalem and your people are insulted by everyone around us because of our sins and the wicked things our ancestors did.
Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, “Praise the Lord! I’ve become rich!” Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.