For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke.

When he sees chariots, teams of horses, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, very alert.”

The sovereign master decreed judgment on Jacob, and it fell on Israel.

For the fortress is neglected; the once-crowded city is abandoned. Hill and watchtower are permanently uninhabited. Wild donkeys love to go there, and flocks graze there.

For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions, and strength to those who defend the city from attackers.

The sound of battle comes from the city; the sound comes from the temple! It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush,

I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.”

Danger awaits one who says to his father, “What in the world are you fathering?” and to his mother, “What in the world are you bringing forth?”

For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.”

O Lord, in distress they looked for you; they uttered incantations because of your discipline.

On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices.

These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars.

Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance.

Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there.

Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. The sovereign Lord will kill you, but he will give his servants another name.

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!”

But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes!

The noisy city is full of raucous sounds; the town is filled with revelry. Your slain were not cut down by the sword; they did not die in battle.