So the people in the land will cry loudly, and the sky will grow dark, because I have spoken and will not change my mind. I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”
The sun, moon, and stars will dissolve, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. The stars will fall like dead leaves from a vine or dried-up figs from a fig tree.
On that day they will roar like the waves of the sea. And when people look at the land, they will see only darkness and pain; all light will become dark in this thick cloud.
How much longer will the land stay dried up and the grass in every field be dead? The animals and birds in the land have died, because the people are evil. Yes, they are even saying, “God does not see what happens to us.”
“The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.
The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery. Because of this, the Lord cursed the land. It has become a very sad place, and the pastures have dried up. The people are evil and use their power in the wrong way.
The Lord will stay angry until he finishes punishing the people. He will stay angry until he finishes the punishment he planned. When that day comes, you will understand this.
Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Bring more guards. Put the watchmen in their places, and get ready for a secret attack! The Lord will certainly do what he has planned and what he said he would do against the people of Babylon.
“As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people. Don’t cry out for them or ask anything for them or beg me to help them, because I will not listen to you.
The Lord has done what he planned; he has kept his word that he commanded long ago. He has destroyed without mercy, and he has let your enemies laugh at you. He has strengthened your enemies.
“ ‘I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back punishment or feel pity or change my mind. I will judge you by your ways and actions, says the Lord God.’ ”
Will I save them from the place of the dead? Will I rescue them from death? Where is your sickness, death? Where is your pain, place of death? I will show them no mercy.
This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “When your ancestors made me angry, I planned to punish you. I did not change my mind,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does. What he promises, he makes come true.
In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people, because from the very beginning God had decided this in keeping with his plan. And he is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants.
Then I watched while the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black like rough black cloth, and the whole moon became red like blood.