But at that time the brother will cry out, “I can’t help you. I don’t have any food or clothing in my house. Don’t make me the leader of these people.”
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to make a promise to the Lord. He is the Most High God. He is the Creator of heaven and earth.
Your people will rebuild the cities that were destroyed long ago. And you will build again on the old foundations. You will be called One Who Repairs Broken Walls. You will be called One Who Makes City Streets Like New Again.
Lord, have you completely turned your back on Judah? Do you hate the city of Zion? Why have you made us suffer? We can’t be healed. We hoped peace would come. But nothing good has happened to us. We hoped we would finally be healed. But all we got was terror.
City of Jerusalem, what can I say about you? What can I compare you to? People of Zion, what are you like? I want to comfort you. Your wound is as deep as the ocean. Who can heal you?
You have not made the weak ones in the flock stronger. You have not healed the sick. You have not bandaged those who are hurt. You have not brought back those who have wandered away. You have not searched for the lost. When you ruled over them, you were mean to them. You treated them badly.
“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.