“I have been the Lord their God
since they were in the land of Egypt.
They have really known no other God except me.
I am the one who has saved them.
I cared for them in the desert
where it was hot and dry.
I gave them food, and they became full and satisfied.
But then they became proud and forgot me.
That is why I will be like a lion to them.
I will be like a leopard waiting by the road.
I will attack like a bear robbed of her cubs.
I will rip their bodies open.
I will devour them like a lion.
I will tear them apart like a wild animal.
“Israel, I will destroy you
for turning against me, your helper.”
What good are your kings and your leaders now?
Can they save you in any of your towns?
You asked for them, saying,
‘Give us a king and leaders.’
So I gave you kings, but only in anger.
And I took them away in my great anger.
The sins of Israel are on record.
They are filed away, waiting for punishment.
Israel has a chance to live again,
but the people are too foolish to take it.
They are like an unborn baby
who won’t come out of its mother’s womb.
So I will not save them from the place where the dead are.
I will not rescue them from death.
I will call on death to hurt them.
I will call on the place where the dead are to destroy them.
I will show them no mercy.
Israel has become important among the nations.
But the Lord will send a destroyer from the east.
He will come like a wind from the desert
that dries up all the springs and wells of water.
He will destroy all their treasures,
everything of value.
The nation of Israel will be punished,
because it fought against God.
The people of Israel will die by the sword.
Their children will be torn to pieces.
And their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
