¹⁰ Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow?
    Will it plow a field for you?

¹³ Harness your chariot horses and flee,
    you people of Lachish.^[a]
You were the first city in Judah
    to follow Israel in her rebellion,
    and you led Jerusalem^[b] into sin.

¹⁰ Now whenever it fits my plan,
    I will attack you, too.
I will call out the armies of the nations
    to punish you for your multiplied sins.

¹¹ “Israel^[a] is like a trained heifer treading out the grain—
    an easy job she loves.
    But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plow
    and Israel^[b] to break up the hard ground.

³ My back is covered with cuts,
    as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.

⁷ It hates the noise of the city
    and has no driver to shout at it.

⁵ “Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?
    Who untied its ropes?