³ But this is what the Lord says:
“I will reward your evil with evil;
    you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose.
You will no longer walk around proudly,
    for it will be a terrible time.”

¹³ So those who are smart keep their mouths shut,
    for it is an evil time.

¹² For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty
    and bring down everything that is exalted.

“Strike the tops of the Temple columns,
    so that the foundation will shake.
Bring down the roof
    on the heads of the people below.
I will kill with the sword those who survive.
    No one will escape!

² “Even if they dig down to the place of the dead,^[a]
    I will reach down and pull them up.
Even if they climb up into the heavens,
    I will bring them down.
³ Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel,
    I will search them out and capture them.
Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean,
    I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.
⁴ Even if their enemies drive them into exile,
    I will command the sword to kill them there.
I am determined to bring disaster upon them
    and not to help them.”

¹⁷ But it is the Lord who did just as he planned.
    He has fulfilled the promises of disaster
    he made long ago.
He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy.
    He has caused her enemies to gloat over her
    and has given them power over her.

¹⁴ Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
    you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
    and have made a deal to dodge the grave.^[a]
The coming destruction can never touch us,
    for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”