Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ¹  for whom she lusted.

“For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹  I am about to deliver you over to ²  those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted.

I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to ¹  evil men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!

I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it.

‘But I will take you out of the city. ¹  And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you.

Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you – though you are a man and not a god – when you are in the power of those who wound you?

You will die the death of the uncircumcised ¹  by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar ¹  of Babylon.

I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, ¹  as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, ¹  and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you.

I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage!

“‘He gave it to be polished, to be grasped in the hand – the sword is sharpened, it is polished – giving it into the hand of the executioner.

I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction.

I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ¹  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ¹  on my shoulder while they watched.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.

tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, ¹  and make them into one stick – they will be one in my hand.’ ² 

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants ¹  the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days ²  that I would bring you against them?

The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, ¹  for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword.