5 the people of Judah will regret that they ever trusted that unreliable nation, a nation that fails them when they expect help.”
6 This is God's message about the animals of the southern desert: “The ambassadors travel through dangerous country, where lions live and where there are poisonous snakes and flying dragons. They load their donkeys and camels with expensive gifts for a nation that cannot give them any help.
7 The help that Egypt gives is useless. So I have nicknamed Egypt, ‘The Harmless Dragon’ ”.
8 God told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are.
9 They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the Lord's teachings.
10 They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, “Don't talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions.
11 Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel.”