Read the Bible

Some of you are going to die
    of horrible diseases.
Others are going to die in war
    or from starvation.
The rest will be led away
    to a foreign country.
³ I will punish you
    in four different ways:
You will be killed in war
and your bodies dragged off
    by dogs,
your flesh will be eaten by birds,
and your bones will be chewed on
    by wild animals.
⁴ This punishment will happen
because of the horrible things^[a]
    your King Manasseh^[b] did.
And you will be disgusting
    to all nations on earth.
⁵ People of Jerusalem,
    who will feel sorry for you?
Will anyone bother
    to ask if you are well?

⁶ My people, you abandoned me
    and walked away.
I am tired of showing mercy;
    that's why I'll destroy you
⁷ by scattering you like straw
    blown by the wind.
I will punish you with sorrow
    and death,
because you refuse
    to change your ways.
⁸ There will be more widows
    in Judah
than grains of sand on a beach.

A surprise attack at noon!
And the mothers in Jerusalem
    mourn for their children.
⁹ A mother is in deep despair
    and struggles for breath.
Her daylight has turned
    to darkness—
she has suffered the loss
    of her seven sons.

I will kill anyone who survives.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁰ I wish I had never been born!
I'm always in trouble
    with everyone in Judah.
I never lend or borrow money,
but everyone curses me
    just the same.

¹¹ Then the Lord replied,
"I promise to protect you,
    and when disaster comes,
even your enemies
    will beg you for help."^[c]

¹² People of Judah,
just as you can't break iron
    mixed with bronze,
you can't defeat the enemies
that will attack
    from the north.
¹³ I will give them
    everything you own,
because you have sinned
    everywhere in your country.
¹⁴ My anger is a fire
    that cannot be put out,^[d]
so I will make you slaves
of your enemies
    in a foreign land.^[e]

¹⁵ You can see how I suffer
insult after insult,
    all because of you, Lord.
Don't be so patient
    with my enemies;
take revenge on them
    before they kill me.

¹⁶ When you spoke to me,
    I was glad to obey,
because I belong to you,
    the Lord All-Powerful.
¹⁷ I don't go to parties
    and have a good time.
Instead, I keep to myself,
because you have filled me
    with your anger.

¹⁸ I am badly injured
    and in constant pain.
Are you going to disappoint me,
like a stream that goes dry
    in the heat of summer?

¹⁹ Then the Lord told me:
    Stop talking like a fool!
If you turn back to me
    and speak my message,
I will let you be my prophet
    once again.
I hope the people of Judah
    will accept what you say.
But you can ignore their threats,
²⁰ because I am making you strong,
    like a bronze wall.
They are evil and violent,
    but when they attack,
²¹ I will be there to rescue you.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.