4. You people stole things in war. Those things will be taken from you. Many will come and take your wealth. It will be like the times when locusts come and eat all your crops.
5. The Lord is very great. He lives in a very high place. He fills Zion with justice and goodness.
6. Jerusalem, you are rich with wisdom and knowledge of God. You are rich with salvation. You respect the Lord, and that makes you rich.
7. But listen! The messengers are crying outside. The messengers who bring peace are crying very hard.
8. The roads are empty; there is no one walking along the paths. People don’t respect each other. They have broken the agreements they made, and they refuse to believe what witnesses tell them.
9. The land is sick and dying. Lebanon is dying and Sharon Valley is dry and empty. Bashan and Carmel once grew beautiful plants—but now those plants have stopped growing.
10. The Lord says, “Now, I will stand and show people how great and powerful I am.
11. You people have done useless things. These things are like hay and straw. They are worth nothing! Your breath will be like a fire and burn you.
12. People will be burned until their bones become lime. They will burn quickly like thorns and dry bushes.
13. “You people in faraway lands, listen to what I have done. You people who are near me, learn about my power.”
14. The sinners in Zion are afraid. Those who do wrong shake with fear. They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns forever?”
15. Good, honest people who refuse to hurt others for money will live through that fire. They refuse to take bribes or listen to plans to murder other people. They refuse to look at plans for doing bad things.