1-5. “Doom, rebel children!”God’s Decree.“You make plans, but not mine.You make deals, but not in my Spirit.You pile sin on sin,one sin on top of another,Going off to Egyptwithout so much as asking me,Running off to Pharaoh for protection,expecting to hide out in Egypt.Well, some protection Pharaoh will be!Some hideout, Egypt!They look big and important, true,with officials strategically established inZoan in the north and Hanes in the south,but there’s nothing to them.Anyone stupid enough to trust themwill end up looking stupid—All show, no substance,an embarrassing farce.”
12-14. Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this:“Because you scorn this Message,Preferring to live by injusticeand shape your lives on lies,This perverse way of lifewill be like a towering, badly built wallThat slowly, slowly tilts and shifts,and then one day, without warning, collapses—Smashed to bits like a piece of pottery,smashed beyond recognition or repair,Useless, a pile of debristo be swept up and thrown in the trash.”