The LORD says, "The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed on their bones.

The LORD Almighty says, "The people of Israel and of Judah are oppressed. All who captured them are guarding them closely and will not let them go.

The LORD says, "I have abandoned Israel; I have rejected my chosen nation. I have given the people I love into the power of their enemies.

My chosen people are like a bird attacked from all sides by hawks. Call the wild animals to come and join in the feast!

They have made it a wasteland; it lies desolate before me. The whole land has become a desert, and no one cares.

For they have killed your people; they have ruined your country.

Syria on the east and Philistia on the west have opened their mouths to devour Israel. Yet even so the LORD's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

The LORD has told the foreign nations to come like wild animals and devour his people.

Israel, you belonged to me alone; you were my sacred possession. I sent suffering and disaster on everyone who hurt you. I, the LORD, have spoken."

The commanding officer took me aside and said, "The LORD your God threatened this land with destruction,

and now he has done what he said he would. All this happened because your people sinned against the LORD and disobeyed him.

I was angry with my people; I treated them as no longer mine: I put them in your power, and you showed them no mercy; even the aged you treated harshly.

We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation.

You have defended us in the past, so do not be angry with Jerusalem any longer. It is your city, your sacred hill. All the people in the neighboring countries look down on Jerusalem and on your people because of our sins and the evil our ancestors did.

and I am very angry with the nations that enjoy quiet and peace. For while I was holding back my anger against my people, those nations made the sufferings of my people worse.

Their owners kill them and go unpunished. They sell the meat and say, 'Praise the LORD! We are rich!' Even their own shepherds have no pity on them."

The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "When I restore the people to their land, they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its towns, 'May the LORD bless the sacred hill of Jerusalem, the holy place where he lives.'

O Lord, you have always been our home.

Whoever goes to the LORD for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,

You are Israel's only hope; you are the one who saves us from disaster. Why are you like a stranger in our land, like a traveler who stays for only one night?

Our ancestors put their trust in you; they trusted you, and you saved them.

They called to you and escaped from danger; they trusted you and were not disappointed.

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope---