22 This is what the LORD says: |
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, O Daughter of Zion." |
24 We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor. |
25 Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side. |
26 O my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us. |
27 "I have made you a tester of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways. |
28 They are all hardened rebels,
going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
they all act corruptly. |
29 The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out. |
30 They are called rejected silver,
because the LORD has rejected them." |
