They have no hope of escaping from darkness, for somewhere a sword is waiting to kill them,

I am going soon and will never come back--- going to a land that is dark and gloomy,

a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion, where the light itself is darkness.

The light of the wicked will still be put out; its flame will never burn again.

The lamp in their tents will be darkened.

They will be driven out of the land of the living, driven from light into darkness.

But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry and gnash their teeth."

Then the king told the servants, 'Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.' "

These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness.

They are like wild waves of the sea, with their shameful deeds showing up like foam. They are like wandering stars, for whom God has reserved a place forever in the deepest darkness.

Everything they have saved is destroyed; a fire not lit by human hands burns them and all their family.

Long ago a place was prepared where a huge fire will burn the emperor of Assyria. It is deep and wide, and piled high with wood. The LORD will breathe out a stream of flame to set it on fire.

It is only good for building a fire. And when the ends are burned up and the middle is charred, can you make anything out of it?

Now this is what the Sovereign LORD is saying: "Just as a vine is taken from the forest and burned, so I will take the people who live in Jerusalem

Tell the southern forest to hear what the Sovereign LORD is saying: Look! I am starting a fire, and it will burn up every tree in you, whether green or dry. Nothing will be able to put it out. It will spread from south to north, and everyone will feel the heat of the flames.

They will all see that I, the LORD, set it on fire and that no one can put it out."

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!

So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off ! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out.

And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off ! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell.

And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell.

"Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.

with a flaming fire, to punish those who reject God and who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus.

They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious might,

Like a storm, God destroys them in his anger.

he will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless. At his command the people will be punished, and evil persons will die.

Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God.