What do I see? That army is terrified, and the soldiers are running away. Their warriors are defeated. They run away quickly without looking back. There is terror on every side!” says the Lord.
After they brought them out of the city, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains, or you will be destroyed.”
Everyone will be afraid. Pain and hurt will grab them; they will hurt like a woman giving birth to a baby. They will look at each other in fear, with their faces red like fire.
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.
I hear many people whispering about me: “Terror on every side! Tell on him! Let’s tell the rulers about him.” My friends are all just waiting for me to make some mistake. They are saying, “Maybe we can trick him so we can defeat him and pay him back.”
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.
Their tents and flocks will be taken away. Their belongings will be carried off— their tents, all their goods, and their camels. Men will shout to them, ‘Terror on every side!’
I will soon bring terror on you from everyone around you,” says the Lord God All-Powerful. “You will all be forced to run away, and no one will be able to gather you.
I will cause many people to be shocked about you. Their kings will tremble with fear because of you when I swing my sword in front of them. They will shake every moment on the day you fall; each king will be afraid for his own life.
You are to eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth as if they were fat animals from Bashan: male sheep, lambs, goats, and bulls.