Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

Judgment Proclaimed

Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says: “Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words fire in your mouth, And this people wood, and it will consume them.

And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept discipline; trustworthiness has perished and has been eliminated from their mouth.

Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.

Who is the wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through?

Now hear the word of the Lord, you women, And let your ears receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And have every woman teach her neighbor a song of mourning.

This is what the Lord of armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They tell a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord.

But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.

This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’

In return, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.”

Leave the cities and live among the rocky cliffs, You inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream toward him. Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!