<p class="poetry">You<n id="1" /> will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;This is the correct<n id="2" /> way, walk in it,&#8221;p> <p class="poetry">whether you are heading to the right or the left.p>

<p class="poetry">Because you rage against mep> <p class="poetry">and the uproar you create has reached my ears,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will put my hook in your nose,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and my bridle between your lips,p> <p class="poetry">and I will lead you backp> <p class="poetry">the way you came.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">Who handed Jacob over to the robber?p> <p class="poetry">Who handed Israel over to the looters?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Was it not the <sc>Lordsc>, against whom we sinned?p> <p class="poetry">They refused to follow his commands;p> <p class="poetry">they disobeyed his law.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Look, I am about to do something new.p> <p class="poetry">Now it begins to happen!<n id="1" /> Do you not recognize<n id="2" /> it?p> <p class="poetry">Yes, I will make a road in the desertp> <p class="poetry">and paths<n id="3" /> in the wilderness.p>

<p class="poetry">It is me &#8211; I stir him up and commission him;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will make all his ways level.p> <p class="poetry">He will rebuild my city;p> <p class="poetry">he will send my exiled people home,p> <p class="poetry">but not for a price or a bribe,&#8221;p> <p class="poetry">says the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies.p>

<p class="poetry">This is what the <sc>Lordsc>, your protector,<n id="1" /> says,p> <p class="poetry">the Holy One of Israel:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I am the <sc>Lordsc> your God,p> <p class="poetry">who teaches you how to succeed,p> <p class="poetry">who leads you in the way you should go.p>

<p class="poetry">Did you not dry up the sea,p> <p class="poetry">the waters of the great deep?p> <p class="poetry">Did you not make<n id="1" /> a path through the depths of the sea,p> <p class="poetry">so those delivered from bondage<n id="2" /> could cross over?p>

<p class="poetry">The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and sinful people their plans.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They should return<n id="3" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>, and he will show mercy to them,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">The dogs have big appetites;p> <p class="poetry">they are never full.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They are shepherds who have no understanding;p> <p class="poetry">they all go their own way,p> <p class="poetry">each one looking for monetary gain.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but you do not say, &#8216;I give up.&#8217;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">You get renewed energy,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">so you don&#8217;t collapse.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">They are unfamiliar with peace;p> <p class="poetry">their deeds are unjust.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They use deceitful methods,p> <p class="poetry">and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Come through! Come through the gates!p> <p class="poetry">Prepare the way for the people!p> <p class="poetry">Build it! Build the roadway!p> <p class="poetry">Remove the stones!p> <p class="poetry">Lift a signal flag for the nations!p>

<p class="poetry">You assist<n id="1" /> those who delight in doing what is right,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">who observe your commandments.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.p> <p class="poetry">How then can we be saved?<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I spread out my hands all day longp> <p class="poetry">to my rebellious people,p> <p class="poetry">who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,p> <p class="poetry">and who did what they desired.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Look up at the hilltops and consider this.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">You have had sex with other gods on every one of them.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;A noise is heard on the hilltops.p> <p class="poetry">It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed they have followed sinful ways;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they have forgotten to be true to the <sc>Lordsc> their God.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem<n id="1" /> will be told,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;A scorching wind will sweep downp> <p class="poetry">from the hilltops in the desert on<n id="2" /> my dear people.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">It will not be a gentle breezep> <p class="poetry">for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;The way you have lived and the things you have done<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">will bring this on you.p> <p class="poetry">This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">I thought, &#8220;Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They act like fools because they do not know what the <sc>Lordsc> demands.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They do not know what their God requires of them.<n id="3" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel who rules over all<n id="1" /> says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right.<n id="2" /> If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land.<n id="3" />