They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers.<n id="1" /> Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">You<n id="1" /> have enlarged the nation;p> <p class="poetry">you give them great joy.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They rejoice in your presencep> <p class="poetry">as harvesters rejoice;p> <p class="poetry">as warriors celebrate<n id="3" /> when they divide up the plunder.p>

<p class="poetry">Syria from the east,p> <p class="poetry">and the Philistines from the west,p> <p class="poetry">they gobbled up Israelite territory.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Despite all this, his anger does not subside,p> <p class="poetry">and his hand is ready to strike again.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Because of the anger of the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies, the land was scorched,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and the people became fuel for the fire.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">People had no compassion on one another.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">They devoured<n id="1" /> on the right, but were still hungry,p> <p class="poetry">they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.p> <p class="poetry">People even ate<n id="2" /> the flesh of their own arm!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,p> <p class="poetry">or to fall among those who have been killed.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Despite all this, his anger does not subside,p> <p class="poetry">and his hand is ready to strike again.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,p> <p class="poetry">or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,p> <p class="poetry">or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!p>

<p class="poetry">Look, God is my deliverer!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will trust in him<n id="2" /> and not fear.p> <p class="poetry">For the <sc>Lordsc> gives me strength and protects me;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">he has become my deliverer.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

<n id="1" /><p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies makes this solemn vow:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Be sure of this:p> <p class="poetry">Just as I have intended, so it will be;p> <p class="poetry">just as I have planned, it will happen.p>

<p class="poetry">For the waters of Nimrim are gone;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">the grass is dried up,p> <p class="poetry">the vegetation has disappeared,p> <p class="poetry">and there are no plants.p>

<p class="poetry">When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For you ignore<n id="1" /> the God who rescues you;p> <p class="poetry">you pay no attention to your strong protector.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">So this is what happens:p> <p class="poetry">You cultivate beautiful plantsp> <p class="poetry">and plant exotic vines.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Look at the land of the Chaldeans,p> <p class="poetry">these people who have lost their identity!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.p> <p class="poetry">They erected their siege towers,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">demolished<n id="3" /> its fortresses,p> <p class="poetry">and turned it into a heap of ruins.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">The earth will stagger around<n id="1" /> like a drunk;p> <p class="poetry">it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Its sin will weigh it down,p> <p class="poetry">and it will fall and never get up again.p>

<p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="1" /> you have made the city<n id="2" /> into a heap of rubble,p> <p class="poetry">the fortified town into a heap of ruins;p> <p class="poetry">the fortress of foreigners<n id="3" /> is no longer a city,p> <p class="poetry">it will never be rebuilt.p>

<p class="poetry">Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the <sc>Lord,sc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Look, I am laying<n id="1" /> a stone in Zion,p> <p class="poetry">an approved<n id="2" /> stone,p> <p class="poetry">set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">The one who maintains his faith will not panic.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Your treaty with death will be dissolved;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">your agreement<n id="2" /> with Sheol will not last.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">you will be overrun by it.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">Once he has leveled its surface,p> <p class="poetry">does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,p> <p class="poetry">sow the seed of the cumin plant,p> <p class="poetry">and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places?<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Certainly<n id="1" /> caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,p> <p class="poetry">nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,p> <p class="poetry">and cumin seed with a flail.p>

<p class="poetry">For this is what the master, the <sc>Lordsc>, the Holy One of Israel says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but you are unwilling.p>