7
Because of this the Lord Almighty says, "I will refine my people like metal and put them to the test. My people have done evil - what else can I do with them?
8
Their tongues are like deadly arrows; they always tell lies. Everyone speaks friendly words to their neighbors, but they are really setting a trap for them.
9
Will I not punish them for these things? Will I not take revenge on a nation like this? I, the Lord, have spoken."
10
I said, "I will mourn for the mountains and weep for the pastures, because they have dried up, and no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard; birds and wild animals have fled and gone."
11
The Lord says, "I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins, a place where jackals live; the cities of Judah will become a desert, a place where no one lives."