So tell the people of Israel that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will make you free, so you will not be slaves to the Egyptians. I will free you by my great power, and I will punish the Egyptians terribly.
You will have to bow down among the captives or fall down among the dead bodies. But the Lord is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
So the Lord has become very angry with his people, and he has raised his hand to punish them. Even the mountains are frightened. Dead bodies lie in the streets like garbage. But the Lord is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
The Arameans came from the east and the Philistines from the west, and they ate up Israel with their armies. But the Lord was still angry; his hand was still raised to punish the people.
So the Lord is not happy with the young people, nor will he show mercy to the orphans and widows. All the people are separated from God and are very evil; they all speak lies. But the Lord is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
The people of Manasseh will fight against the people of Ephraim, and Ephraim will fight against Manasseh. Then both of them will turn against Judah. But the Lord is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
I forced the people of Israel and Judah to leave their land, because I was furious and very angry with them. But soon I will gather them from all the lands where I forced them to go, and I will bring them back to this place, where they may live in safety.
Perhaps they will ask the Lord to help them. Perhaps each one will stop doing wicked things, because the Lord has announced that he is very angry with them.”
Even if you defeated all of the Babylonian army that is attacking you and there were only a few injured men left in their tents, they would come from their tents and burn down Jerusalem!”
Their houses will be turned over to others, along with their fields and wives, because I will raise my hand and punish the people of Judah,” says the Lord.
In his anger he has removed all the strength of Israel; he took away his power from Israel when the enemy came. He burned against the people of Jacob like a flaming fire that burns up everything around it.
Be careful. Don’t forget the Agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you, and don’t make any idols for yourselves, as the Lord your God has commanded you not to do.
No other god has ever taken for himself one nation out of another. But the Lord your God did this for you in Egypt, right before your own eyes. He did it with tests, signs, miracles, war, and great sights, by his great power and strength.