So this is what the Lord says: I’m planning a disaster to punish your family. You won’t be able to rescue yourselves. You will no longer be able to walk proudly. This will be a time of disaster.
The Lord adds, “The women of Zion are arrogant. They walk with their noses in the air, making seductive glances, taking short little steps, jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.”
They say, “Let God hurry and quickly do his work so that we may see what he has in mind. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen quickly so that we may understand what he is doing.”
“Now say to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to prepare a disaster and make plans against you. Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.’
“This is what the Lord says: You didn’t obey me. You haven’t freed your relatives and neighbors. Now I am going to free you,” declares the Lord. “I will free you to die in wars, plagues, and famines. I will make all the kingdoms of the world horrified at the thought of you.
As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the fire in the fireplace. He did this until the whole scroll was burned up.
Azariah (son of Hoshaiah), Johanan (son of Kareah), and all the arrogant people said to Jeremiah, “You’re lying! The Lord our God didn’t send you to tell us that we must not go to live in Egypt.
My rebellious acts are a heavy burden for me. They were tied together by God’s own hands. They were tied around my neck. He has weakened me ⌞with them⌟. The Lord has handed me over to people I cannot oppose.
The Lord has accomplished what he had planned to do. He carried out the threat he announced long ago. He tore you down without any pity, ⌞Jerusalem⌟. He made your enemies gloat over you. He raised the weapons of your opponents.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor, and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is true, his ways are right, and he can humiliate those who act arrogantly.
How horrible it will be for those who invent trouble and work out plans for disaster while in bed. When the morning dawns, they carry out their plans because they are able to.
So you will serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you. You will serve them even though you are already hungry, thirsty, naked, and in need of everything. The Lord will put a heavy burden of hard work on you until he destroys you.