7–8  “Yes, and I’m the One who stopped the rains

three months short of harvest.

I’d make it rain on one village

but not on another.

I’d make it rain on one field

but not on another—and that one would dry up.

People would stagger from village to village

crazed for water and never quenching their thirst.

But you never got thirsty for me.

You ignored me.”

God’s Decree.

9  “I hit your crops with disease

and withered your orchards and gardens.

Locusts devoured your olive and fig trees,

but you continued to ignore me.”

God’s Decree.

10  “I revisited you with the old Egyptian plagues,

killed your choice young men and prize horses.

The stink of rot in your camps was so strong

that you held your noses—

But you didn’t notice me.

You continued to ignore me.”

God’s Decree.

11  “I hit you with earthquake and fire,

left you devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah.

You were like a burning stick

snatched from the flames.

But you never looked my way.

You continued to ignore me.”

God’s Decree.

12  “All this I have done to you, Israel,

and this is why I have done it.

Time’s up, O Israel!

Prepare to meet your God!”