"I will layit waste;It will not be prunedor hoed,But briarsand thornswill comeup. I will also chargethe cloudsto rainnorainon it."
Now Elijahthe Tishbite,who was of the settlersof Gilead,saidto Ahab,"As the LORD,the Godof Israellives,beforewhomI stand,surelythere shall be neitherdewnor raintheseyears,exceptby my word."
"When the heavensare shutup and there is norain,becausethey have sinnedagainst You, and they praytowardthisplaceand confessYour nameand turnfrom their sinwhenYou afflictthem,
Let briarsgrowinsteadof wheat,And stinkweedinsteadof barley."The wordsof Jobare ended.
And behold,it was completelyovergrownwith thistles;Its surfacewas coveredwith nettles,And its stonewallwas brokendown.
Desolationis leftin the cityAnd the gateis batteredto ruins.
Then He will give[you] rainfor the seedwhichyou will sowin the ground,and bread[from] the yieldof the ground,and it will be richand plenteous;on that dayyour livestockwill grazein a roomypasture.
Withina yearand [a few] daysYou will be troubled,O complacent[daughters]; For the vintageis ended,[And] the [fruit] gatheringwill not come.
"For your wasteand desolateplaces and your destroyedland--Surelynowyou will be toocrampedfor the inhabitants,And those who swallowedyou will be faraway.
"Insteadof the thornbushthe cypresswill comeup, And insteadof the nettlethe myrtlewill comeup, And it will be a memorialto the LORD,For an everlastingsignwhich will not be cutoff."
They will allcomeand settleon the steepravines,on the ledgesof the cliffs,on allthe thornbushesand on allthe wateringplaces.
That whichcameas the wordof the LORDto Jeremiahin regardto the drought:
Are thereanyamong the idolsof the nationswho giverain?Orcan the heavensgrantshowers?Is it not You, O LORDour God?Therefore we hopein You, For You are the one who has doneallthesethings.
Thiswholelandwill be a desolationand a horror,and thesenationswill servethe kingof Babylonseventyyears.
"Thusyou are to sayto him, 'Thussaysthe LORD,"Behold,whatI have builtI am about to teardown,and whatI have plantedI am about to uproot,that is, the wholeland."
And He has violentlytreatedHis tabernaclelike a garden[booth]; He has destroyedHis appointedmeetingplace.The LORDhas caused to be forgottenThe appointedfeastand sabbathin Zion,And He has despisedkingand priestIn the indignationof His anger.
For the sonsof Israelwill remainfor manydayswithoutkingor prince,withoutsacrificeor [sacred] pillarand withoutephodor householdidols.
For behold,they will gobecauseof destruction;Egyptwill gatherthem up, Memphiswill burythem. Weedswill takeovertheir treasuresof silver;Thorns[will be] in their tents.
It has mademy vinea wasteAnd my figtreesplinters.It has strippedthem bareand cast[them] away;Their brancheshave becomewhite.
"Furthermore,I withheldthe rainfrom you While [there were] stillthreemonthsuntil harvest.Then I would sendrainon onecityAnd on anothercityI would not sendrain;Onepartwould be rainedon, While the partnot rainedon would dryup.
and they will fallby the edgeof the sword,and will be led captiveinto allthe nations;and Jerusalemwill be trampled underfoot by the Gentilesuntilthe timesof the Gentilesare fulfilled.
Allits landis brimstoneand salt,a burningwaste, unsownand unproductive,and nograssgrowsin it, like the overthrowof Sodomand Gomorrah,Admahand Zeboiim,whichthe LORDoverthrewin His angerand in His wrath.'
Thesehavethe powerto shutup the sky,sothat rainwill not fallduring the daysof their prophesying;and they havepoweroverthe watersto turnthem into blood,and to strikethe earthwith everyplague,as oftenas they desire.
