"When Israel saw how sick she was and when Judah saw her own wounds, then Israel went to Assyria to ask the great emperor for help, but he could not cure them or heal their wounds.

The Assyrian emperor, instead of helping Ahaz, opposed him and caused him trouble.

When his troubles were at their worst, that man Ahaz sinned against the LORD more than ever.

They go to Egypt for help without asking for my advice. They want Egypt to protect them, so they put their trust in Egypt's king.

But the king will be powerless to help them, and Egypt's protection will end in disaster.

Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right---escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster!

Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt's vast military strength---horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the LORD, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help.

The Egyptians are not gods---they are only human. Their horses are not supernatural. When the LORD acts, the strong nation will crumble, and the weak nation it helped will fall. Both of them will be destroyed.

"Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you---if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities.

You have cheapened yourself by turning to the gods of other nations. You will be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by Assyria.

You will turn away from Egypt, hanging your head in shame. I, the LORD, have rejected those you trust; you will not gain anything from them."

The LORD says to his people, "Your wounds are incurable, your injuries cannot be healed.

All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer care about you. I have attacked you like an enemy; your punishment has been harsh because your sins are many and your wickedness is great.

You have made up your minds that you want to be like the other nations, like the people who live in other countries and worship trees and rocks. But that will never be.

"Now then, Oholibah, this is what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to you. You are tired of those lovers, but I will make them angry with you and bring them to surround you.

"I will abandon my people until they have suffered enough for their sins and come looking for me. Perhaps in their suffering they will try to find me."

The people say, "Let's return to the LORD! He has hurt us, but he will be sure to heal us; he has wounded us, but he will bandage our wounds, won't he?

Return to the LORD your God, people of Israel. Your sin has made you stumble and fall.

Be confident, my heart, because the LORD has been good to me.

Return, all of you who have turned away from the LORD; he will heal you and make you faithful. You say, "Yes, we are coming to the LORD because he is our God.

But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters---everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times.

"I hear the people of Israel say in grief, ' LORD, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back; we are ready to return to you, the LORD our God.

The LORD says, "When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God.

They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.

Let us examine our ways and turn back to the LORD.

"We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O LORD, have not forgiven us.

At last he came to his senses and said, 'All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve!

I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." '

to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem. "I remember how faithful you were when you were young, how you loved me when we were first married; you followed me through the desert, through a land that had not been planted.

The LORD says, "If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, he cannot take her back again. This would completely defile the land. But, Israel, you have had many lovers, and now you want to return to me!

It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant.

You took the embroidered clothes I gave you and put them on the images, and you offered to the images the olive oil and incense I had given you.

The older one was named Oholah (she represents Samaria), and the younger one was named Oholibah (she represents Jerusalem). I married both of them, and they bore me children.

But when you entered the good land, you became full and satisfied, and then you grew proud and forgot me.

"Just as the LORD your God promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will give you a land with large and prosperous cities which you did not build.

make certain that you do not forget the LORD who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

So then, you must never think that you have made yourselves wealthy by your own power and strength.

Remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because he is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors.

"He let them rule the highlands, and they ate what grew in the fields. They found wild honey among the rocks; their olive trees flourished in stony ground.

"The LORD's people grew rich, but rebellious; they were fat and stuffed with food. They abandoned God their Creator and rejected their mighty savior.

Your people captured fortified cities, fertile land, houses full of wealth, cisterns already dug, olive trees, fruit trees, and vineyards. They ate all they wanted and grew fat; they enjoyed all the good things you gave them.

"But your people rebelled and disobeyed you; they turned their backs on your Law. They killed the prophets who warned them, who told them to turn back to you. They insulted you time after time,

None of the idols of the nations can send rain; the sky by itself cannot make showers fall. We have put our hope in you, O LORD our God, because you are the one who does these things.

This is the decision of the alert and watchful angels. So then, let all people everywhere know that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses---even to those who are least important.'

You will be driven away from human society and will live with wild animals. For seven years you will eat grass like an ox and sleep in the open air, where the dew will fall on you. Then you will admit that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses.

You will be driven away from human society, live with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for seven years. Then you will acknowledge that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses."

He was driven away from human society, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like an ox, and slept in the open air with nothing to protect him from the dew. Finally he admitted that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms and can give them to anyone he chooses.