12 Be horrified over this, heaven.Be terribly afraid,” declares the Lord.
13 “My people have done two things wrong.They have abandoned me,the fountain of life-giving water.They have also dug their own cisterns,broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
14 “Are the people of Israel slaves?Were they born into slavery?Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them.Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
17 You have brought this on yourselfby abandoning the Lord your Godwhen he led you on his way.
18 You won’t gain anything by going to Egyptto drink water from the Nile River.You won’t gain anything by going to Assyriato drink water from the Euphrates River.