31Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt’s vast military strength—horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the Lord, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help. ²He knows what he is doing! He sends disaster. He carries out his threats to punish evil men and those who protect them. ³The Egyptians are not gods—they are only human. Their horses are not supernatural. When the Lord acts, the strong nation will crumble, and the weak nation it helped will fall. Both of them will be destroyed.

⁴The Lord said to me, “No matter how shepherds yell and shout, they can’t scare away a lion from an animal that it has killed; in the same way, there is nothing that can keep me, the Lord Almighty, from protecting Mount Zion. ⁵Just as a bird hovers over its nest to protect its young, so I, the Lord Almighty, will protect Jerusalem and defend it.”

⁶The Lord said, “People of Israel, you have sinned against me and opposed me. But now, come back to me! ⁷A time is coming when all of you will throw away the sinful idols you made out of silver and gold. ⁸Assyria will be destroyed in war, but not by human power. The Assyrians will run from battle, and their young men will be made slaves.

⁹Their emperor will run away in terror, and the officers will be so frightened that they will abandon their battle flags.” The Lord has spoken—the Lord who is worshipped in Jerusalem and whose fire burns there for sacrifices.

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