17. I will wait for the Lord to help us.The Lord is ashamed of the family of Israel.I will trust the Lord.
18. I am here. And with me are the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and proofs for the people of Israel. We have been sent by the Lord of heaven’s armies. He lives on Mount Zion.
19. Some people say, “Ask the mediums and fortune-tellers what to do. They whisper and mutter and ask dead people what to do.” But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead?
20. You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord. The mediums and fortune-tellers do not speak the word of the Lord. Their words are worth nothing.
21. People will wander through the land troubled and hungry. When they become hungry, they will become angry. Then they will look up and curse their king and their God.
22. They will look around them at their land. And they will see only trouble and darkness and awful gloom. And they will be forced into the darkness.