13. So then, here is what the Lord's message will become to them. Do this and do that. Do that and do this. Obey this rule and obey that rule. Obey that rule and obey this rule. Learn a little here and learn a little there. So when they try to go forward, they'll fall back and be wounded. They'll be trapped and captured.
14. Listen to the Lord's message, you who make fun of the truth. Listen, you who rule over these people in Jerusalem.
15. You brag, "We have entered into a covenant with death. We have made an agreement with the grave. When a terrible plague comes to punish us, it can't touch us. That's because we depend on lies to keep us safe. We hide behind what isn't true."
16. So the Lord and King speaks. He says, "Look! I am laying a stone in Zion. It is a stone that has been tested. It is the most important stone for a firm foundation. The one who trusts in that stone will never be shaken.
17. I will use a measuring line to prove that you have not been fair. I will use a plumb line to prove that you have not done what is right. Hail will sweep away the lies you depend on to keep you safe. Water will flood your hiding place.
18. Your covenant with death will be called off. The agreement you made with the grave will not stand. When the terrible plague comes to punish you, you will be beaten down by it.
19. As often as it comes, it will carry you away. Morning after morning, day and night, it will come to punish you." If you understand this message, it will bring you absolute terror.
20. You will be like someone whose bed is too short to lie down on. You will be like those whose blankets are too small to wrap themselves in.
21. The Lord will rise up to judge, just as he did at Mount Perazim. He will get up to act, just as he did in the Valley of Gibeon. He'll do his work, but it will be strange work. He'll carry out his task, but it will be an unexpected one.
22. Now stop making fun of me. If you don't, your chains will become heavier. The Lord who rules over all has spoken to me. The Lord has told me he has ordered that the whole land be destroyed.