“The Lord says, ¹  ‘That is why I will scatter your people ²  like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind. ³ 

No, ¹  a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’ ² 

I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven. I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go. ¹ 

The Lord says, “I will cause a destructive wind ¹  to blow against ²  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ³ 

The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ¹  The Lord has not spoken through them. ²  So, let what they say happen to them.’”

I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them ¹  when disaster strikes them.”

My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! ¹  Your allies will go into captivity. Then you will certainly ²  be disgraced and put to shame because of all the wickedness you have done.

“At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem ¹  will be told, ‘A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on ²  my dear people. ³  It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. ⁴ 

When his voice thunders, ¹  the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. ²  He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. ³ 

Their camels will be taken as plunder. Their vast herds will be taken as spoil. I will scatter to the four winds those desert peoples who cut their hair short at the temples. ¹  I will bring disaster against them from every direction,” says the Lord. ² 

When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.

You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. ¹  No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find. ² 

I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. ¹  They will winnow her and strip her land bare. ²  This will happen when ³  they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her. ⁴ 

The Lord continued, ¹  “In every town in the land I will purge them like straw blown away by the wind. ²  I will destroy my people. I will kill off their children. I will do so because they did not change their behavior. ³ 

Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. ¹  The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. ²  His horses move more swiftly than eagles.” I cry out, ³  “We are doomed, ⁴  for we will be destroyed!”

Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found.” ¹ 

But just watch! ¹  The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! ²  Like a raging storm it will rage down ³  on the heads of those who are wicked.