24 I will send wasting famine against them,

consuming pestilence and deadly plague;

I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,

the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

25 In the street the sword will make them childless;

in their homes terror will reign.

The young men and young women will perish,

the infants and those with gray hair.

26 I said I would scatter them

and erase their name from human memory,

27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,

lest the adversary misunderstand

and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;

the Lord has not done all this.’ ”

28 They are a nation without sense,

there is no discernment in them.

24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat,

And with bitter destruction:

I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,

With the poison of serpents of the dust.

25 The sword without,

And terror within, shall destroy

Both the young man and the virgin,

The suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

26 I said, I would scatter them into corners,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

27 Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy,

Lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely,

And lest they should say, Our hand is high,

And the Lord hath not done all this.

28 For they are a nation void of counsel,

Neither is there any understanding in them.

24 I will weaken them with famine,

burning fever, and deadly disease.

I will send the fangs of wild beasts

and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword will bring death,

and inside, terror will strike

both young men and young women,

both infants and the aged.

26 I would have annihilated them,

wiping out even the memory of them.

27 But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy,

who might misunderstand and say,

“Our own power has triumphed!

The Lord had nothing to do with this!” ’

28 “But Israel is a senseless nation;

the people are foolish, without understanding.

24 They shall be wasted with hunger,

Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;

I will also send against them the teeth of beasts,

With the poison of serpents of the dust.

25 The sword shall destroy outside;

There shall be terror within

For the young man and virgin,

The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

26 I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,

I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”

27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,

Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,

Lest they should say, “Our hand is high;

And it is not the Lord who has done all this.” ’

28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,

Nor is there any understanding in them.

24 They will be starved and sick,

destroyed by terrible diseases.

I will send them vicious animals

and gliding, poisonous snakes.

25 In the streets the sword will kill;

in their homes there will be terror.

Young men and women will die,

and so will babies and gray-haired men.

26 I will scatter them as I said,

and no one will remember them.

27 But I didn’t want their enemy to brag;

their enemy might misunderstand

and say, ‘We have won!

The Lord has done none of this.’ ”

28 Israel has no sense;

they do not understand.

24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat

And bitter destruction;

And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them,

With the poison of crawling things of the dust.

25 Without shall the sword bereave,

And in the chambers terror;

It shall destroy both young man and virgin,

The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

26 I said, I would scatter them afar,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;

27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,

Lest their adversaries should judge amiss,

Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted,

And Jehovah hath not done all this.

28 For they are a nation void of counsel,

And there is no understanding in them.

24 They shall be consumed with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, And with poisonous pestilence; And the teeth of beasts will I send against them, With the poison of what crawleth in the dust. 25 From without shall the sword bereave them, and in the chambers, terror—Both the young man and the virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

26 I would say, I will scatter, I will make the remembrance of them to cease from among men, 27 If I did not fear provocation from the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand it, Lest they should say, Our hand is high, and Jehovah has not done all this. 28 For they are a nation void of counsel, And understanding is not in them.

24 They will be starved by famines 

and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics. 

I will send vicious animals against them 

along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground. 

25 Foreign wars will kill off their children, 

and even at home there will be horrors. 

Young men and young women alike will die 

as well as nursing babies and gray-haired men. 

26 I said that I would cut them in pieces 

and erase everyone’s memory of them. 

27 But I didn’t want their enemies to make me angry. 

I didn’t want their opponents to misunderstand and say, 

‘We won this victory! 

It wasn’t the Lord who did all this!’ ” 

28 My people have lost their good sense. 

They are not able to understand. 

24 They will be weak from hunger,

ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;

I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,

as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword will take their children,

and inside, there will be terror;

the young man and the young woman will be killed,

the infant and the gray-haired man.

26 “I would have said: I will cut them to pieces

and blot out the memory of them from mankind,

27 if I had not feared insult from the enemy,

or feared that these foes might misunderstand

and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed;

it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’ ”

28 Israel is a nation lacking sense

with no understanding at all.

24 wasting hunger,

burning consumption,

bitter pestilence.

The teeth of beasts I will send against them,

with venom of things crawling in the dust.

25 In the street the sword shall bereave,

and in the chambers terror,

for young man and woman alike,

nursing child and old gray head.

26 I thought to scatter them

and blot out the memory of them from humankind;

27 but I feared provocation by the enemy,

for their adversaries might misunderstand

and say, “Our hand is triumphant;

it was not the Lord who did all this.”

28 They are a nation void of sense;

there is no understanding in them.

24 They will become weakened by famine,

and consumed by plague and bitter pestilence;

and the teeth of wild animals I will send against them,

with the poison of the creeping things in the dust;

25 From outside her boundaries the sword will make her childless,

and from inside, terror;

both for the young man and also the young woman,

the infant along with the gray-headed man.

26 I thought, “I will wipe them out;

I will make people forget they ever existed.”

27 If I had not feared a provocation of the enemy,

lest their foes might misunderstand,

lest they should say, “Our hand is

triumphant, and Yahweh did not do all this.” ’

28 For they are a nation void of sense,

and there is not any understanding in them.

24 I will send them hunger. It will make them weak.

I will send terrible sickness. I will send deadly plagues.

I will send wild animals that will tear them apart.

Snakes that glide through the dust will bite them.

25 In the streets their children will be killed with swords.

Their homes will be filled with terror.

Young men and women will die.

Babies and old people will die.

26 I said I would scatter them.

I said I would wipe them from human memory.

27 But I was afraid their enemies would make fun of that.

I was afraid their attackers would not understand.

I was sure they would say, ‘We’re the ones who’ve beaten them!

The Lord isn’t the one who did it.’ ”

28 Israel is a nation that doesn’t have any sense.

They can’t understand anything.

24 ‘They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague

And bitter destruction;

And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,

With the venom of crawling things of the dust.

25 ‘Outside the sword will bereave,

And inside terror—

Both young man and virgin,

The nursling with the man of gray hair.

26 ‘I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces,

I will remove the memory of them from men,”

27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,

That their adversaries would misjudge,

That they would say, “Our hand is triumphant,

And the Lord has not done all this.” ’

28 “For they are a nation lacking in counsel,

And there is no understanding in them.