4. The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.
5. The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God.
6. The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong, so God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished, and only a few of them will survive.
7. The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. People who were happy are now sad.
8. They have stopped showing their joy. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended.
9. They no longer sing as they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10. “Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People cannot enter the houses. The doors are blocked.
11. People still ask for wine in the marketplaces, but all the joy is gone. It was carried off with everything else.
12. All that is left is destruction. Even the gates are crushed.
13. At harvest time, people knock olives from the trees. But a few olives are left in the trees. It will be like that in this land and among the nations.
14. Those who are left will begin shouting louder than the ocean. They will rejoice about the Lord’S greatness.
15. They will say, “People in the east, praise the Lord! People in faraway lands, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”
16. We hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth. They praise the God who does what is right. But I say, “Enough! I have had enough. What I see is terrible. Traitors are turning against people and hurting them.”
17. I see troubles for you people living in this land. I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
18. People will hear about the danger, and they will be afraid. Some of them will run away, but they will fall into holes and be trapped. Some of them will climb out of the holes, but they will be caught in another trap. The floodgates in the sky above will open, and the floods will begin. The foundations of the earth will shake.