12. “Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorised.
13. The Lord of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.
14. He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
15. Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
16. Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law amongst my disciples.
17. I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.
19. When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter:” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20. Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
21. They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
22. and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.