17. I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated, and those who hate you will rule over you; you will be so terrified that you will run when no one is chasing you.
18. “If even after all this you still do not obey me, I will increase your punishment seven times.
19. I will break your stubborn pride; there will be no rain, and your land will be dry and as hard as iron.
20. All your hard work will do you no good, because your land will not produce crops and the trees will not bear fruit.
21. “If you still continue to resist me and refuse to obey me, I will again increase your punishment seven times.
22. I will send dangerous animals among you, and they will kill your children, destroy your livestock, and leave so few of you that your roads will be deserted.
23. “If after all this punishment you still do not listen to me, but continue to defy me,
24. then I will turn on you and punish you seven times harder than before.
25. I will bring war on you to punish you for breaking our covenant, and if you gather in your cities for safety, I will send incurable diseases among you, and you will be forced to surrender to your enemies.
26. I will cut off your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake all the bread they have. They will ration it out, and when you have eaten it all, you will still be hungry.
27. “If after all this you still continue to defy me and refuse to obey me,
28. then in my anger I will turn on you and again make your punishment seven times worse than before.
29. Your hunger will be so great that you will eat your own children.
30. I will destroy your places of worship on the hills, tear down your incense altars, and throw your dead bodies on your fallen idols. In utter disgust