16 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask where the old road is. Ask where the good road is, and walk on that road. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves. But you people have said, ‘We will not walk on the good road.’
17 I chose watchmen to watch over you. I told them, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet.’ But they said, ‘We will not listen!’
18 So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you people in those countries.
19 Hear this, people of the earth: I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah because of all the evil they planned, and because they ignored my messages. They refused to obey my law.
20 “Why do you bring me incense from the country of Sheba? Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway country? Your burnt offerings don’t make me happy. Your sacrifices don’t please me.”
21 So this is what the Lord says: “I will give the people of Judah problems. They will be like stones that make people fall. Fathers and sons will stumble over them. Friends and neighbors will die.”
22 This is what the Lord says: “An army is coming from the north. A great nation is coming from faraway places on earth.