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.
Topheth has been made ready for a long time; it is ready for the king. It was made deep and wide with much wood and fire. And the Lord’s breath will come like a stream of burning sulfur and set it on fire.
How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help. They think horses will save them. They think their many chariots and strong horsemen will save them. But they don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel, or ask the Lord for help.
They will panic, and their protection will be destroyed. Their commanders will be terrified when they see God’s battle flag,” says the Lord, whose fire is in Jerusalem and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
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?”
You have insulted me and spoken against me; you have raised your voice against me. You have a proud look on your face, which is against me, the Holy One of Israel!
Then the angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead bodies.
But they are like straw; fire will quickly burn them up. They cannot save themselves from the power of the fire. They are not like coals that give warmth nor like a fire that you may sit beside.
The sun will no longer be your light during the day nor will the brightness from the moon be your light, because the Lord will be your light forever, and your God will be your glory.
“They will go out and see the dead bodies of the people who sinned against me. The worms that eat them will never die, and the fires that burn them will never stop, and everyone will hate to see those bodies.”
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.
“ ‘So this is what the Lord God says: I will pour out my anger on this place, on people and animals, on the trees in the field and the crops in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire that no one can put out.
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.”
“At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood or like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe.
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.”
There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will rule as kings forever and ever.