Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise.<n id="1" />

Then the <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;This means<n id="1" /> destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land.

<p class="poetry">&#8220;My, how good you have becomep> <p class="poetry">at chasing after your lovers!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">You will not always be angry with me, will you?p> <p class="poetry">You will not be mad at me forever, will you?&#8217;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">That is what you say,p> <p class="poetry">but you continually do all the evil that you can.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">so that you may yet be delivered.p> <p class="poetry">How long will you continue to harbor upp> <p class="poetry">wicked schemes within you?p>

<p class="poetry">The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.p> <p class="poetry">But there is too much dross to be removed.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The process of refining them has proved useless.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">The wicked have not been purged.p>

Not one of them will survive.<n id="1" /> I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you.<n id="2" /> A day of reckoning is coming for them.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

But they just keep saying, &#8216;We do not care what you say!<n id="1" /> We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Moreover,<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> says,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Both the prophets and priests are godless.p> <p class="poetry">I have even found them doing evil in my temple!p>

<p class="poetry">But if they had stood in my inner circle,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they would have proclaimed my message to my people.p> <p class="poetry">They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked waysp> <p class="poetry">and stop doing the evil things they are doing.p>

So, now the <sc>Lordsc> says,<n id="1" /> &#8216;You have not listened to me. But<n id="2" /> you have made me angry by the things that you have done.<n id="3" /> Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.&#8217;p>

But the people of Jerusalem and Judah<n id="1" /> would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods.<n id="2" />

They will know that I am the <sc>Lord;sc> my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.&#8217;<n id="1" />p>

I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries<n id="1" /> will be desecrated.

<p class="bodytext">He said to me, &#8220;Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;&#8216;After all of your evil &#8211; &#8220;Woe! Woe to you!&#8221; declares the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> &#8211;

<p class="poetry">They do not realize<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">that I remember all of their wicked deeds.p> <p class="poetry">Their evil deeds have now surrounded them;p> <p class="poetry">their sinful deeds are always before me.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For this reason whoever is smart<n id="1" /> keeps quiet<n id="2" /> in such a time,p> <p class="poetry">for it is an evil<n id="3" /> time.p>

<p class="poetry">All the sinners among my people will die by the sword &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">the ones who say, &#8216;Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.&#8217;p>