Lord, you are ready to punish those people, but they do not see that. Show them your strong love for your people. Then those who are evil will be ashamed. Burn them in the fire you have prepared for your enemies.
The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid; those who are separated from God shake with fear. They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?”
Give yourselves to the service of the Lord, and decide to obey him, people of Judah and people of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you have done.
This is what the Lord God says: I speak in hot anger against the other nations. I speak against the people of Edom, who took my land for themselves with joy and with hate in their hearts. They forced out the people and took their pastureland.’
The places of false worship will be destroyed, the places where Israel sins. Thorns and weeds will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
The Lord is a jealous God who punishes; the Lord punishes and is filled with anger. The Lord punishes those who are against him, and he stays angry with his enemies.
On the day that God will show his anger, neither their silver nor gold will save them. The Lord’s anger will be like a fire that will burn up the whole world; suddenly he will bring an end, yes, an end to everyone on earth.”
Just wait,” says the Lord. “Someday I will stand up as a witness. I have decided that I will gather nations and assemble kingdoms. I will pour out my anger on them, all my strong anger. My anger will be like fire that will burn up the whole world.
“There is a day coming that will burn like a hot furnace, and all the proud and evil people will be like straw. On that day they will be completely burned up so that not a root or branch will be left,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
“Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me. You will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever that was prepared for the devil and his angels.
He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”
Be happy, nations, with his people, because he will repay you for the blood of his servants. He will punish his enemies, and he will remove the sin of his land and people.
So be careful and do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Others refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth, and they did not escape. So it will be worse for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven.
So surely we also will be punished if we ignore this great salvation. The Lord himself first told about this salvation, and those who heard him testified it was true.
Your gold and silver have rusted, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days.
If you sin against someone, God can help you. But if you sin against the Lord himself, no one can help you!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him, because the Lord had decided to put them to death.