What will you do on the day when the Lord punishes you? On that day trouble will come from far away. Who will you run to for help? Who will you trust your riches with?
Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying. “Jacob has taken everything our father owned,” they said. “He has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.”
They followed the trail of Aram’s soldiers all the way to the Jordan River. They found clothes and supplies all along the road. The soldiers had thrown them down when they ran away. So the men who were sent out returned. They reported to the king what they had seen.
At that time the people who live on the coast of Philistia will speak up. They will say, ‘See what has happened to those we depended on! We ran to them for help. We wanted them to save us from the king of Assyria. Now how can we escape?’ ”
Those other masters are now dead. They will never live again. Their spirits won’t rise from the dead. You punished them and destroyed them. You wiped out all memory of them.
He is coming from the place where he lives. He will punish the people of the earth for their sins. The blood spilled on the earth will be brought out into the open. The ground will no longer hide those who have been killed.
the Lord who rules over all will come. He will come with thunder, earthquakes and a lot of noise. He’ll bring windstorms and rainstorms with him. He’ll send a blazing fire that will burn up everything.
You said, ‘No. We’ll escape on horses.’ So you will have to escape! You said, ‘We’ll ride off on fast horses.’ So those who chase you will use faster horses!
But the people of Judah will be put to shame. That’s because they are trusting in a nation that is useless to them. Egypt will not bring them any help or advantage. Instead, it will bring them shame and dishonor.”
The sinners in Zion are terrified. They tremble with fear. They say, ‘Who of us can live through the Lord’s destroying fire? Who of us can live through the fire that burns forever?’
Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?” “They came from a land far away,” Hezekiah said. “They came to me from Babylon.”
So Death opens its jaws to receive them. Its mouth is open wide to swallow them up. Their nobles and the rest of the people will go down into it. They will go there together with all those who have wild parties.
He lifts up a banner to gather the nations that are far away. He whistles for them to come from the farthest places on earth. Here they come. They are moving very quickly.
I will send destroyers against you. All of them will come with their weapons. They will cut up your fine cedar beams. They will throw them into the fire.
What are you doing, you who are destroyed? Why do you dress yourself in bright red clothes? Why do you put on jewels of gold? Why do you put makeup on your eyes? You make yourself beautiful for no reason at all. Your lovers hate you. They want to kill you.
“The people of Ephraim saw how sick they were. The people of Judah saw that they were wounded. Then Ephraim turned to Assyria for help. They sent gifts to the great King Tiglath-Pileser. But he is not able to make you well. He can’t heal your wounds.
The time when God will punish you is coming. The day when he will judge you is near. I want Israel to know this. You have committed many sins. And you hate me very much. That’s why you think the prophet is foolish. You think the person the Lord speaks through is crazy.
The best of these people are as harmful as thorns. The most honest of them are even worse. God has come to punish you. The time your prophets warned you about has come. Panic has taken hold of you.
Their silver and gold won’t save them on the day the Lord pours out his anger. The whole earth will be burned up when his jealous anger blazes out. Everyone who lives on earth will come to a sudden end.”
You didn’t recognize the time when God came to you. So your enemies will smash you to the ground. They will destroy you and all the people inside your walls. They will not leave one stone on top of another.”
The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will come from the ends of the earth. It will dive down on you like an eagle. You won’t understand that nation’s language.
People who don’t believe might say you are doing wrong. But lead good lives among them. Then they will see your good deeds. And they will give glory to God on the day he comes to judge.