5 Or let them cling to me for refuge;let them make peace with me;let them make peace with me.
6 In coming days,Jacob will take root;Israel will blossom and sproutand fill the whole world with produce.
7 Did God strike Israel as he struck those who struck him?Was Israel killed as his killers were killed?
8 By frightening Jerusalem, by sending her away,you contended with her,expelling with a fierce blaston the day of the east wind.
9 By this Jacob’s guilt is reconciled,and this was how his sins were finally removed:he made all the altar stones like shattered chalk,sacred poles and incense altars that couldn’t stand.
10 The fortified city lies alone,a hut forsaken,abandoned like the desert.Calves graze there;they lie down there and feed on its boughs.
11 When its branches are dry, they are broken.Women come and set fire to it.These people have no understanding;therefore, their maker won’t have compassion;the one who formed them won’t be gracious.