<p class="poetry">The sovereign <sc>Lordsc> has spoken to me clearly;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I have not rebelled,p> <p class="poetry">I have not turned back.p>

He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front<n id="1" /> and back;<n id="2" /> written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.p>

<p class="poetry">May Dan be a snake beside the road,p> <p class="poetry">a viper by the path,p> <p class="poetry">that bites the heels of the horsep> <p class="poetry">so that its rider falls backward.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors,p> <p class="poetry">the bow of Jonathan was not turned away.p> <p class="poetry">The sword of Saul never returned<n id="1" /> empty.p>

<p class="bodytext">When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel&#8217;s best men and deployed them against the Arameans.<n id="1" />

When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel&#8217;s best men and deployed them against the Arameans.<n id="1" />

<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">Predict how future events will turn out,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">so we might know you are gods.p> <p class="poetry">Yes, do something good or bad,p> <p class="poetry">so we might be frightened and in awe.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Justice is driven back;p> <p class="poetry">godliness<n id="1" /> stands far off.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="2" /> honesty stumbles in the city squarep> <p class="poetry">and morality is not even able to enter.p>

But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better.<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, say:<n id="1" /> &#8216;You people have deserted me!p> <p class="poetry">You keep turning your back on me.&#8217;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">So I have unleashed my power against you<n id="3" /> and have begun to destroy you.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">What do I see?&#8221;<n id="1" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The soldiers<n id="3" /> are terrified.p> <p class="poetry">They are retreating.p> <p class="poetry">They have been defeated.p> <p class="poetry">They are overcome with terror;<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">they desert quicklyp> <p class="poetry">without looking back.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1495; (<i>Kheti>)p> <p class="poetry">Jerusalem committed terrible sin;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">therefore she became an object of scorn.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">All who admired<n id="3" /> her have despised her<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">because they have seen her nakedness.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">She groans aloud<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">and turns away in shame.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1502; (<i>Memi>)p> <p class="poetry">He sent down fire<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">into my bones, and it overcame<n id="2" /> them.p> <p class="poetry">He spread out a trapper&#8217;s net<n id="3" /> for my feet;p> <p class="poetry">he made me turn back.p> <p class="poetry">He has made me desolate;p> <p class="poetry">I am faint all day long.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1490; (<i>Gimeli>)p> <p class="poetry">In fierce anger<n id="1" /> he destroyed<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the whole army<n id="3" /> of Israel.p> <p class="poetry">He withdrew his right hand<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">as the enemy attacked.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob;<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">it consumed everything around it.<n id="7" />p>

&#8220;The Sea&#8221; stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. &#8220;The Sea&#8221; was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.<n id="1" />

&#8220;The Sea&#8221; stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. &#8220;The Sea&#8221; was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.<n id="1" />

<n id="1" /><p class="poetry">The sinful nation is as good as dead,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the people weighed down by evil deeds.p> <p class="poetry">They are offspring who do wrong,p> <p class="poetry">children<n id="3" /> who do wicked things.p> <p class="poetry">They have abandoned the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">and rejected the Holy One of Israel.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">They are alienated from him.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">So the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s word to them will sound likep> <p class="poetry">meaningless gibberish,p> <p class="poetry">senseless babbling,p> <p class="poetry">a syllable here, a syllable there.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and be injured, ensnared, and captured.<n id="3" />p>

All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Your trusted friends misled you;p> <p class="poetry">they have gotten the best of you.p> <p class="poetry">Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,p> <p class="poetry">they have turned their backs on you.&#8217;<n id="2" />p>