8 The highways were deserted;travelers left the road.The covenant was broken;solemn pledges were rejected;no one cared for humanity.
9 The land mourned; it wasted away;Lebanon was ashamed; it withered.Sharon became like the desert,and Bashan and Carmel were dropping their leaves.
10 Now I will arise, says the Lord.Now I will exalt myself; now I will stand tall.
11 You conceive straw, give birth to stubble;your breath is a fire that devours you.
12 Peoples will be burned to lime,thorns cut up and set ablaze.
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;and you who are near, know my strength!
14 Sinners became terrified in Zion;trembling seized the godless:"Who among us can live with the devouring fire?Who among us can live with the everlasting blaze?"