Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them before their enemies. At that awful time they will not see me coming to help them; they will see me leaving.”
They say to things of wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to idols of stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Those people won’t look at me; they have turned their backs to me. But when they get into trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
The hired soldiers in Egypt’s army are like fat calves, because even they all turn and run away together; they do not stand strong against the attack. Their time of destruction is coming; they will soon be punished.
Israel is doing well among the nations, but the Lord will send a wind from the east, coming from the desert, that will dry up his springs and wells of water. He will destroy from their treasure houses everything of value.
The Lord will help your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction, but you will run from them in seven directions. And you will become a thing of horror among all the kingdoms on earth.
Then the Lord will scatter you among the nations—from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone, gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.
Then I will become very angry at them, and I will leave them. I will turn away from them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘It is because God is not with us that these terrible things are happening.’
I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip, because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly.”