Judah Is Warned

14 Therefore, ahear the word of the Lord, O bscoffers,

Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

15 Because you have said, “We have made a acovenant with death,

And with 1Sheol we have made a 2pact.

bThe overwhelming 3scourge will not reach us when it passes by,

For we have made cfalsehood our refuge and we have dconcealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Therefore thus says the Lord 1God,

“aBehold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested bstone,

A costly cornerstone for the foundation, 2firmly placed.

He who believes in it will not be 3disturbed.

17 “I will make ajustice the measuring line

And righteousness the level;

Then bhail will sweep away the refuge of lies

And the waters will overflow the secret place.

18 “Your acovenant with death will be 1bcanceled,

And your pact with Sheol will not stand;

When the aoverwhelming scourge passes through,

Then you become its ctrampling place.

19 “As aoften as it passes through, it will 1seize you;

For bmorning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,

And it will be 2sheer cterror to understand 3what it means.”

20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,

And the ablanket is too 1small to wrap oneself in.

21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount aPerazim,

He will be stirred up as in the valley of bGibeon,

To do His ctask, His 1dunusual task,

And to work His work, His 2extraordinary work.

22 And now do not carry on as ascoffers,

Or your fetters will be made stronger;

For I have heard from the Lord 1God of hosts

Of decisive bdestruction on all the earth.