I had been like a gentle lamb led off to be killed. I didn’t realize they had made plans against me. They had said, “Let’s destroy the tree and its fruit. Let’s take away his life. Then his name won’t be remembered anymore.”
So their path will become slippery. They will be thrown out into darkness. There they will fall. I will bring trouble on them when the time to punish them comes,” announces the Lord.
Hired soldiers are in Egypt’s army. They are like fat calves. All of them will turn and run away. They will not hold their positions. The day of trouble is coming on them. The time for them to be punished is near.
Anyone who runs away from the terror will fall into the pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The time is coming when I will punish Moab,” announces the Lord.
Kill all Babylon’s strongest warriors. Let them die in battle. How terrible it will be for them! Their time to be judged has come. Now they will be punished.
The Lord rules over all. He says to me, “People gather the few grapes left on a vine. So let Israel’s enemies gather the few people left alive in the land Look carefully at the branches again. Do this like someone who gathers the last few grapes.”
Are they ashamed of their hateful actions? No. They do not feel any shame at all. They do not even know how to blush. So they will fall like others who have already fallen. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.
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.
They will be like a fire. Joseph’s people will be like a flame. The nation of Edom will be like straw. Jacob’s people will set Edom on fire and burn it up. No one will be left alive among Esau’s people.” The Lord has spoken.
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.
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.”