23. The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
24. The lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.
25. “The lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26. Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.
27. “The lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
28. The lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic.
29. You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.
30. “You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.
31. Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you.
32. You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them.
33. A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.
34. You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you.
35. The lord will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot.
36. “The lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone!
37. You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the lord sends you.
38. “You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops.
39. You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines.