A GLIMMER OF LIGHT

³ Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
    You struck them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than stone
    and refused to repent.
⁴ I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,
for they do not know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
⁵ So I will go to the leaders
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.
⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.

⁷ “Why should I forgive you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and sworn by gods that are not gods.
I supplied all their needs,
    yet they committed adultery
    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
⁸ They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for another man’s wife.
⁹ Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself
    on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
    but do not destroy them completely.
Strip off her branches,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
¹¹ The people of Israel and the people of Judah
    have been utterly unfaithful to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹² They have lied about the Lord;
    they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;
    we will never see sword or famine.
¹³ The prophets are but wind
    and the word is not in them;
    so let what they say be done to them.”

“Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth a fire
    and these people the wood it consumes.
¹⁵ People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food,
    devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
    the fortified cities in which you trust.

²⁰ “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim it in Judah:
²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
    who have eyes but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:
²² Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
    they have turned aside and gone away.
²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’
²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.

²⁶ “Among my people are the wicked
    who lie in wait like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps to catch people.
²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;
they have become rich and powerful
²⁸     and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰ “A horrible and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy lies,
    the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?