Judah’s messengers carry their riches on the backs of donkeys.
    They carry their treasures on the humps of camels.
    They travel through a land of danger and suffering.
It’s a land filled with lions.
    Poisonous snakes are also there.
The messengers travel to a nation
    that can’t do them any good.
⁷ They travel to Egypt, whose help is totally useless.
    That’s why I call it Rahab the Do-Nothing.

⁸ The Lord said to me, “Go now.
    Write on a tablet for the people of Judah
    what I am about to say.
Also write it on a scroll.
    In days to come
    it will be a witness that lasts forever.
⁹ That’s because these people of Judah refuse to obey me.
    They are children who tell lies.
    They will not listen to what I want to teach them.
¹⁰ They say to the seers,
    ‘Don’t see any more visions!’
They say to the prophets,
    ‘Don’t give us any more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things.
    Prophesy things we want to hear even if they aren’t true.
¹¹ Get out of our way!
    Get off our path!
    Keep the Holy One of Israel away from us!’ ”

“You have turned your backs on what I have said.
    You have depended on telling people lies.
    You have crushed others.
¹³ Those sins are like cracks in a high wall.
    They get bigger and bigger.
Suddenly the wall breaks apart.
    Then it quickly falls down.
¹⁴ It breaks into small pieces like a clay pot.
    It breaks up completely.
Not one piece is left big enough
    for taking coals from a fireplace.
    Not one piece is left for dipping water out of a well.”

“You will find peace and rest
    when you turn away from your sins and depend on me.
You will receive the strength you need
    when you stay calm and trust in me.
    But you do not want to do what I tell you to.
¹⁶ 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!
¹⁷ When one of them dares you to fight,
    a thousand of you will run away.
When five of them dare you,
    all of you will run away.
So few of you will be left that you will be
    like a flagpole on top of a mountain.
    You will be like only one banner on a hill.”

¹⁸ But the Lord wants to have mercy on you.
    So he will rise up to give you his tender love.
The Lord is a God who is always fair.
    Blessed are all those who wait for him to act!

²⁷ The Lord will come from far away
    in all his power and glory.
He will show his burning anger.
    Thick clouds of smoke will be all around him.
His mouth will speak angry words.
    The words from his tongue will be like a destroying fire.
²⁸ His breath will be like a rushing flood
    that rises up to the neck.
He’ll separate out the nations he is going to destroy.
    He’ll place a bit in their jaws.
    It will lead them down the road to death.
²⁹ You will sing
    as you do on the night you celebrate a holy feast.
Your hearts will be filled with joy.
    You will be as joyful as people playing their flutes
as they go up to the mountain of the Lord.
    He is the Rock of Israel.
³⁰ The Lord will cause people to hear his powerful voice.
    He will make them see his arm coming down to punish them.
It will come down with burning anger and destroying fire.
    It will come down with rain, thunderstorms and hail.
³¹ The voice of the Lord will tear the Assyrians apart.
    He will strike them down with his scepter.
³² He will strike them
    with his club to punish them.
Each time he does, his people will celebrate
    with the music of harps and tambourines.
He will use his powerful arm
    to strike down the Assyrians in battle.
³³ In the Valley of Ben Hinnom, Topheth has been prepared for a long time.
    It has been made ready for the king of Assyria.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide.
    It has plenty of wood for the fire.
The breath of the Lord
    will be like a stream of burning sulfur.
    It will set the wood on fire.