18. They will wear sackcloth and be covered with fear. You will see the shame on every face. They will shave their heads to show their sadness.
19. They will throw their silver idols into the streets. They will treat their gold statues like dirty rags, because those things will not be able to save them when the Lord shows his anger. Those things were nothing but a trap that caused the people to fall. They will not give food to the people or put food in their bellies.
20. “They used their beautiful jewelry and made an idol. They were proud of that statue. They made their terrible statues. They made those filthy things, so I will throw them away like a dirty rag.
21. I will let strangers take them. Those strangers will make fun of them. They will kill some of the people and take others away as prisoners.
22. I will turn my head away from them—I will not look at them. The strangers will ruin my Temple—they will go into the secret parts of that holy building and make it unfit for worship.
23. “Make chains for the prisoners, because many people will be punished for killing other people. There will be violence every place in the city.
24. I will bring evil people from other nations, and they will get all the houses of the people of Israel. I will stop all you powerful people from being so proud. Those people from other nations will get all your places of worship.
25. “You will shake with fear. You will look for peace, but there will be none.
26. You will hear one sad story after another. You will hear nothing but bad news. You will look for a prophet and ask him for a vision. The priests will have nothing to teach you, and the elders will not have any good advice to give you.
27. Your king will be crying for the people who died. The leaders will wear sackcloth. The common people will be very afraid, because I will pay them back for what they did. I will decide their punishment, and I will punish them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”