13. The prophets are so much wind;the word isn’t in them.Thus and so may it be done to them.
14. Therefore, the Lord God of heavenly forces proclaims:Because you have spoken this way,I will put my wordsin your mouth as a fire;it will consume the people,who are but kindling.
15. I am about to bring a distant nation against you,people of Israel,declares the Lord.It is an established nation,an ancient nation,a nation whose language you don’t know,whose speech you won’t understand.
16. Its weapons are deadly;its warriors are many.
17. It will devour your harvest and food;it will devour your sons and daughters;it will devour your flocks and herds;it will devour your vines and fig trees;it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust—with the sword!
18. Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I won’t completely destroy you.
19. And when they ask, "Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?" you must reply, "Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own."
20. Declare this to the people of Jacob,announce it in Judah:
21. Listen, you foolish and senseless people,who have eyes but don’t seeand ears but don’t hear.
22. Shouldn’t you fear me,declares the Lord, and tremble before me,the one who set the shoreline for the sea,an ancient boundary that it can’t pass?Though its waves may rise and roar,they can’t pass the limits I have set.
23. And yet the people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;they turn and go their own way.
24. They don’t say in their hearts,Let’s fear the Lord our God,who provides rain in autumn and springand who assures us of a harvest in its season.
25. Your wrongdoing has turned these blessings away.Your sin has robbed you of good.
26. Criminals are found among my people;they set traps to catch people,like hunters lying in wait.
27. Like a cage full of birds,so their houses are full of loot.No wonder they are rich and powerful