<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies told me this:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Many houses will certainly become desolate,p> <p class="poetry">large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I replied, &#8220;How long, sovereign master?&#8221; He said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,p> <p class="poetry">and houses are uninhabited,p> <p class="poetry">and the land is ruined and devastated,p>

<p class="poetry">Ephraim&#8217;s leader is Samaria,p> <p class="poetry">and Samaria&#8217;s leader is the son of Remaliah.p> <p class="poetry">If your faith does not remain firm,p> <p class="poetry">then you will not remain secure.&#8221;<n id="1" />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>

For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as<n id="1" /> the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back.<n id="2" /> Destruction has been decreed;<n id="3" /> just punishment<n id="4" /> is about to engulf you.<n id="5" />

<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="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies told me this:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,&#8221;<n id="2" /> says the sovereign master, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies.p>

<p class="poetry">This is what will happen throughout<n id="1" /> the earth,p> <p class="poetry">among the nations.p> <p class="poetry">It will be like when they beat an olive tree,p> <p class="poetry">and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.<n id="2" />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">Your thinking is perverse!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Should the potter be regarded as clay?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Should the thing made say<n id="3" /> about its maker, &#8220;He didn&#8217;t make me&#8221;?p> <p class="poetry">Or should the pottery say about the potter, &#8220;He doesn&#8217;t understand&#8221;?p>

Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

They have burned the gods of the nations,<n id="1" /> for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.<n id="2" />

<p class="poetry">Do you not know?p> <p class="poetry">Have you not heard?p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> is an eternal God,p> <p class="poetry">the creator of the whole earth.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He does not get tired or weary;p> <p class="poetry">there is no limit to his wisdom.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">My servant is truly blind,p> <p class="poetry">my messenger is truly deaf.p> <p class="poetry">My covenant partner,<n id="1" /> the servant of the <sc>Lordsc>, is truly blind.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Though the <sc>Lordsc> desired to crush him and make him ill,p> <p class="poetry">once restitution is made,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">he will see descendants and enjoy long life,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s purpose will be accomplished through him.p>

<p class="poetry">Then you will call out, and the <sc>Lordsc> will respond;p> <p class="poetry">you will cry out, and he will reply, &#8216;Here I am.&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">You must<n id="1" /> remove the burdensome yoke from among youp> <p class="poetry">and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.p>

<p class="poetry">But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;p> <p class="poetry">your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">But be happy and rejoice forevermorep> <p class="poetry">over what I am about to create!p> <p class="poetry">For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem<n id="1" /> to be a source of joy,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and her people to be a source of happiness.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.p> <p class="poetry">You can use as much soap as you want.p> <p class="poetry">But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">says the Lord <sc>Godsc>.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">But where are the gods you made for yourselves?p> <p class="poetry">Let them save you when you are in trouble.p> <p class="poetry">The sad fact is that<n id="1" /> you have as many godsp> <p class="poetry">as you have towns, Judah.p>