12. Those people have lied about the Lord.They have said, “The Lord will not do anything to us!Nothing bad will happen to us.We will never see war or hunger.
13. The prophets are like an empty wind.The word of God is not in them.Let these bad things they say happen to them.”
14. So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:“The people said I would not punish them.So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire.And these people will be like wood the fire burns up.
15. Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord.“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.The people there speak a language you do not know.You cannot understand what they say.
16. Their arrows bring death.All their men are strong warriors.
17. They will eat your crops and your food.They will eat your sons and daughters.They will eat your flocks and herds.They will eat your grapes and figs.They will destroy with their swordsthe strong, walled cities you trust in!
18. “Yet even then,” says the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely.
19. The people of Judah will ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done this terrible thing to us?’ Give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord. You have served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you!’