If I go into the country, I see people killed by swords. If I go into the city, I see much sickness, because the people have no food. Both the priests and the prophets have been taken to a foreign land.’ ”
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.”
Then I said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,’ but now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
“Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem: ‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’ Shout out loud and say, ‘Come together! Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
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.
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.
“Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get together! We have sinned against the Lord, so he has given us poisoned water to drink. Come, let’s run to the strong, walled cities. The Lord our God has decided that we must die, so let’s die there.
“You invited terrors to come against me on every side, as if you were inviting them to a feast. No one escaped or remained alive on the day of the Lord’s anger. My enemy has killed those I cared for and brought up.”
They will put on rough cloth to show how sad they are. They will tremble all over with fear. Their faces will show their shame, and all their heads will be shaved.