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.
How terrible it will be for Samaria, the pride of Israel’s drunken people! That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant set on a hill above a rich valley where drunkards live.
Ahaz king of Judah received a message saying, “The armies of Aram and Israel have joined together.” When Ahaz heard this, he and the people were frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blown by the wind.
“Look! The enemy has surrounded the city and has built roads to the top of the walls to capture it. Because of war, hunger, and terrible diseases, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. You said this would happen, and now you see it is happening.
The king will cry greatly, the prince will give up hope, and the hands of the people who own land will shake with fear. I will punish them for the way they have lived. The way they have judged others is the way I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
I will show no pity, and I will not hold back punishment. I will pay you back for the way you have lived and the things you have done that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord who punishes.
Israel has forgotten their Maker and has built palaces; Judah has built many strong, walled cities. But I will send fire on their cities and destroy their strong buildings.”
The people of Edom might say, “We were destroyed, but we will go back and rebuild the ruins.” But the Lord All-Powerful says, “If they rebuild them, I will destroy them. People will say, ‘Edom is a wicked country. The Lord is always angry with the Edomites.’
“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.
In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under older people. And all of you should be very humble with each other. “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”