"You who have forsakenMe," declaresthe LORD,"You keep goingbackward.So I will stretchout My handagainstyou and destroyyou; I am tiredof relenting!
"Yet they did not obeyor inclinetheir ear,but walkedin [their own] counsels[and] in the stubbornnessof their evilheart,and wentbackwardand not forward.
"So I will stretchout My handagainstJudahAnd againstallthe inhabitantsof Jerusalem.And I will cutoffthe remnantof Baalfrom thisplace,[And] the namesof the idolatrouspriestsalongwith the priests.
"But they refusedto payattentionand turneda stubbornshoulderand stoppedtheir earsfrom hearing.
So My peopleare benton turningfrom Me. Though they callthem to [the One] on high,Noneat allexalts[Him].
Alas,sinfulnation,Peopleweigheddownwith iniquity,Offspringof evildoers,Sonswho actcorruptly!They have abandonedthe LORD,They have despisedthe HolyOneof Israel,They have turnedawayfrom Him.
Shall I ransomthem from the powerof Sheol?Shall I redeemthem from death?O Death,whereare your thorns?O Sheol,whereis your sting?Compassionwill be hiddenfrom My sight.
therefore,behold,I have stretchedout My handagainstyou and I will giveyou for spoilto the nations.And I will cutyou offfrom the peoplesand make you perishfrom the lands;I will destroyyou. Thus you will knowthat I am the LORD."
"Hear,O earth:behold,I am bringingdisasteron thispeople,The fruitof their plans,Becausethey have not listenedto My words,And as for My law,they have rejectedit also.
But I am fullof the wrathof the LORD;I am wearywith holding[it] in. "Pour[it] out on the childrenin the streetAnd on the gatheringof youngmentogether;For bothhusbandand wifeshall be taken,The agedand the veryold.
"Have you not donethisto yourself By your forsakingthe LORDyour GodWhenHe ledyou in the way?
"I will pronounceMy judgmentson them concerningalltheir wickedness,wherebythey have forsakenMe and have offeredsacrificesto othergods,and worshipedthe worksof their own hands.
SinceIsraelis stubbornLike a stubbornheifer,Can the LORDnowpasturethem Like a lambin a largefield?
"But ifthe prophetis prevailedupon to speaka word,it is I, the LORD,who have prevailedupon that prophet,and I will stretchout My handagainsthim and destroyhim from amongMy peopleIsrael.
But if I say,"I will not rememberHim Or speakanymorein His name,"Then in my heartit becomeslike a burningfireShutup in my bones;And I am wearyof holding[it] in, And I cannotendure[it].
"Whythen has thispeople,Jerusalem,Turnedawayin continualapostasy?They holdfastto deceit,They refuseto return.
"Your own wickednesswill correctyou, And your apostasieswill reproveyou; Knowtherefore and seethat it is eviland bitterFor you to forsakethe LORDyour God,And the dreadof Me is not in you," declaresthe LordGODof hosts.
"For My peoplehave committedtwoevils:They have forsakenMe, The fountainof livingwaters,To hewfor themselves cisterns,BrokencisternsThat canholdnowater.
So the wordof the LORDto them will be, "Orderon order,orderon order,Lineon line,lineon line,A littlehere,a littlethere,"That they may goand stumblebackward,be broken,snaredand takencaptive.
Now the Egyptiansare menand not God,And their horsesare fleshand not spirit;So the LORDwill stretchout His hand,And he who helpswill stumbleAnd he who is helpedwill fall,And allof them will cometo an endtogether.
"Their housesshall be turnedoverto others,Their fieldsand their wivestogether;For I will stretchout My handAgainstthe inhabitantsof the land,"declaresthe LORD.
"As for you, do not prayfor thispeople,and do not liftup cryor prayerfor them, and do not intercedewith Me; for I do not hearyou.
"The wisemenare putto shame,They are dismayedand caught;Behold,they have rejectedthe wordof the LORD,And whatkind of wisdomdo they have?
and sayto it, 'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Behold,I am againstyou, MountSeir,And I will stretchout My handagainstyou And makeyou a desolationand a waste.
"I will dashthem againsteachother,both the fathersand the sonstogether,"declaresthe LORD."I will not showpitynorbe sorrynorhavecompassionso as not to destroythem."'"
"So the LORDwas nolongerableto endure[it], becauseof the evilof your deeds,becauseof the abominationswhichyou have committed;thus your landhas becomea ruin,an objectof horrorand a curse,withoutan inhabitant,as [it is] thisday.
