⁷ But listen! The messengers are crying outside. The messengers^[a] who bring peace are crying very hard. ⁸ The roads are empty; there is no one walking along the paths. People don’t respect each other. They have broken the agreements they made, and they refuse to believe what witnesses^[b] tell them. ⁹ The land is sick and dying. Lebanon is dying and Sharon Valley is dry and empty. Bashan and Carmel once grew beautiful plants—but now those plants have stopped growing.