9 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.
10 “Go along and cut down Judah’s vineyards.But do not completely destroy them.Cut off all her people as if they were branches.Do it because they do not belong to the Lord.
11 The families of Israel and Judahhave been completely unfaithful to me,” says the Lord!
12 Those people have lied about the Lord.They have said, “The Lord will not do anything to us!Nothing bad will happen to us.We will never see war or hunger.
13 The prophets are like an empty wind.The word of God is not in them.Let these bad things they say happen to them.”
14 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:“The people said I would not punish them.So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire.And these people will be like wood the fire burns up.
15 Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord.“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.The people there speak a language you do not know.You cannot understand what they say.