So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. "Please bring me a drink of water," he said to her.

She answered, "By the living LORD your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death."

All the cities of Israel will be destroyed, so that all their altars and their idols will be smashed to pieces, their incense altars will be shattered, and everything they made will disappear.

People will be killed everywhere, and those who survive will acknowledge that I am the LORD.

Yes, I will reach out and destroy their country. I will make it a wasteland from the southern desert to the city of Riblah in the north, not sparing any place where the Israelites live. Then everyone will know that I am the LORD."

"Prophesy, then, and announce what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying. When the neighboring nations captured and plundered the mountains of Israel, everyone made fun of Israel.

I asked, "How long will it be like this, Lord?" He answered, "Until the cities are ruined and empty---until the houses are uninhabited---until the land itself is a desolate wasteland.

(The LORD has said that the whole earth will become a wasteland, but that he will not completely destroy it.)

I said, "I will mourn for the mountains and weep for the pastures, because they have dried up, and no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard; birds and wild animals have fled and gone."

The LORD says, "I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins, a place where jackals live; the cities of Judah will become a desert, a place where no one lives."

Listen! News has come! There is a great commotion in a nation to the north; its army will turn the cities of Judah into a desert, a place where jackals live."

They have made this land a thing of horror, to be despised forever. All who pass by will be shocked at what they see; they will shake their heads in amazement.

I am going to give this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army; they will capture it

The LORD said, "People are saying that this place is like a desert, that it has no people or animals living in it. And they are right; the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are empty; no people or animals live there. But in these places you will hear again

The LORD Almighty said, "In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep.

But the earth will become a desert because of the wickedness of those who live on it.

Like a storm I swept them away to live in foreign countries. This good land was left a desolate place, with no one living in it."

The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his.

For, as the scripture says, "The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord."

But if someone tells you, "This food was offered to idols," then do not eat that food, for the sake of the one who told you and for conscience' sake---

"Everything is in confusion ---the land is full of murders and the cities are full of violence.

but everyone else was evil in God's sight, and violence had spread everywhere.

God said to Noah, "I have decided to put an end to all people. I will destroy them completely, because the world is full of their violent deeds.

He made rich soil become a salty wasteland because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

As a well keeps its water fresh, so Jerusalem keeps its evil fresh. I hear violence and destruction in the city; sickness and wounds are all I see.

You are building God's city, Jerusalem, on a foundation of murder and injustice.

And so, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.