So the Lord God All-Powerful, the Mighty One of Israel, says: “You, my enemies, will not cause me any more trouble. I will pay you back for what you did.
You take the smooth rocks from the ravines as your portion. You pour drink offerings on them to worship them, and you give grain offerings to them. Do you think this makes me want to show you mercy?
They are responsible for the people, so the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have scattered my people and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord.
Then he could not be patient with you any longer. He hated the terrible things you did. So he made your country an empty desert, where no one lives. Other people curse that country. And so it is today.
“Go along and cut down Judah’s vineyards, but do not completely destroy them. Cut off all her people as if they were branches, because they do not belong to the Lord.
But I am full of the anger of the Lord, and I am tired of holding it in. “Pour out my anger on the children who play in the street and on the young men gathered together. A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger, as will the very old.
This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Cut down the trees around Jerusalem, and build an attack ramp to the top of its walls. This city must be punished. Inside it is nothing but slavery.
Your punishment is complete, Jerusalem. He will not send you into captivity again. But the Lord will punish the sins of Edom; he will uncover your evil.
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.
I will punish her for all the times she burned incense to the Baals. She put on her rings and jewelry and went chasing after her lovers, but she forgot me!” says the Lord.
The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts and eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them. He remembers the evil they have done, and he will punish them for their sins. They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.
You broke my agreement, and I will punish you. I will bring armies against you, and if you go into your cities for safety, I will cause diseases to spread among you so that your enemy will defeat you.
The Lord is a jealous God who punishes; the Lord punishes and is filled with anger. The Lord punishes those who are against him, and he stays angry with his enemies.
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.”
Be happy, nations, with his people, because he will repay you for the blood of his servants. He will punish his enemies, and he will remove the sin of his land and people.