7. “I have abandoned my nation.I have left my own people.I have handed the people I love over to their enemies.
8. My people have turned on me like a lion in the forest.They roar at me, so I hate them.
9. My people are like a colorful bird of prey.Other birds of prey surround it.Go, gather all the animals in the field,and bring them to devour it.
10. Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard.They’ve trampled my property.They’ve turned my pleasant property into a wasteland.
11. They’ve left it a wasteland.Devastated, it mourns in my presence.The whole land is destroyed,but no one takes this to heart.
12. Looters swarm all over the bare hills in the desert.The Lord’s sword destroys themfrom one end of the land to the other.No one will be safe.
13. My people planted wheat, but they harvested thorns.They worked until they became sick, but they gained nothing by it.They were disappointed by their harvestsbecause of the burning anger of the Lord.
14. “This is what I, the Lord, say about all my evil neighbors who take the inheritance that I gave my people Israel: I am going to uproot those neighbors from their lands. I will also uproot the people of Judah from among them.
15. After I’ve uprooted them, I will have compassion on them again. I will return them to their inheritance and to their lands.