12. Those people have lied about the Lordand said, “He will not do anything to us!Nothing bad will happen to us!We will never see war or hunger!
13. The prophets are like an empty wind;the word of God is not in them.Let the bad things they say happen to them.”
14. So this is what the Lord God All-Powerful says:“The people said I would not punish them.So, the words I give you will be like fire,and these people will be like wood that it burns up.
15. Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord,“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.The people there speak a language you do not know;you cannot understand what they say.
16. Their arrows bring death.All their people are strong warriors.
17. They will eat your crops and your food.They will eat your sons and daughters.They will eat your flocks and herds.They will eat your grapes and figs.They will destroy with their swordsthe strong, walled cities you trust.
18. “Yet even then,” says the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely.
19. When the people of Judah ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these terrible things to us?’ then give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord and served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20. “Announce this message to the family of Jacob,and tell it to the nation of Judah:
21. Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.They have eyes, but they don’t really see.They have ears, but they don’t really listen.
22. Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.“You should shake with fear in my presence.I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea,a border the water can never go past.The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.They may roar, but they cannot go beyond it.