There have been prophets long before you and I were ever born. They have prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms. They have spoken about war, trouble and plague.

从古以来，在你我以前的先知，向多国和大邦说预言，论到争战、灾祸、瘟疫的事。

从古以来，在你我以前的众先知，向多国和大邦说预言，论到战争、灾祸、瘟疫的事。

从古以来，在你我以前的众先知，向多国和大邦说预言，论到战争、灾祸、瘟疫的事。

在你我之前的古代先知曾预言许多地方和强国要遭遇战争、灾祸和瘟疫。

自古以来，在你我以前的先知，已经预言有战争、灾祸和瘟疫要临到许多地方和强国。

從古以來，在你我以前的先知，向多國和大邦說預言，論到爭戰、災禍、瘟疫的事。

從古以來，在你我以前的眾先知，向多國和大邦說預言，論到戰爭、災禍、瘟疫的事。

從古以來，在你我以前的眾先知，向多國和大邦說預言，論到戰爭、災禍、瘟疫的事。

在你我之前的古代先知曾預言許多地方和強國要遭遇戰爭、災禍和瘟疫。

自古以來，在你我以前的先知，已經預言有戰爭、災禍和瘟疫要臨到許多地方和強國。

從古以來、你我以前的神言人向許多地區許多大國傳神言、都是論到戰爭、災禍、或瘟疫的。

爾我以前之先知、自古對多國大邦、預言戰爭、災害疫癘、

粵稽古昔、爾我之前、有先知、或言眾國大邦、必遇戰鬥、遘災害、罹疫癘、

自亙古以來、爾我前之先知、言諸國與大邦未來之事、有先知預言將有爭戰、災害、瘟疫、

From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms.

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.

The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease.

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.

The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague.

The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms— of war and disaster and pestilence.

The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.

The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.

The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence.

He said,“ The Lord roars like a lion from Jerusalem. His voice sounds like thunder from Zion. The grasslands of the shepherds turn brown. The top of Mount Carmel dries up.”

Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab,“ I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won’t be any during the next few years. It won’t come until I say so.”

Go. Tell Jeroboam that the Lord has a message for him. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ I chose you from among the people. I appointed you king over my people Israel.I tore the kingdom away from the royal house of David. I gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David. He obeyed my commands. He followed me with all his heart. He did only what was right in my eyes.You have done more evil things than all those who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself. You have made statues of gods out of metal. You have made me very angry. You have turned your back on me.“‘ Because of that, I am going to bring horrible trouble on your royal house. I will cut off from you every male in Israel. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. I will burn up your royal house, just as someone burns up trash. I will burn it until it is all gone.Some of the people who belong to you will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them. The Lord has spoken!’“ Now go back home. When you enter your city, your son will die.All the Israelites will mourn for him. Then he will be buried. He is the only one who belongs to Jeroboam who will be buried. That is because he is the only one in Jeroboam’s royal house in whom I have found anything good. I am the Lord, the God of Israel.“ I will choose for myself a king over Israel. He will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This day your son will die. Even now this is beginning to happen.I, the Lord, will strike down Israel. Israel will be like tall grass swaying in the water. I will pull Israel up from this good land by the roots. I gave it to their people who lived long ago. I will scatter Israel to the east side of the Euphrates River. That is because they made the Lord very angry. They made poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.

I will sing a song for the Lord. He is the one I love. It’s a song about his vineyard Israel. The one I love had a vineyard. It was on a hillside that had rich soil.He dug up the soil and removed its stones. He planted the very best vines in it. He built a lookout tower there. He also cut out a winepress for it. Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes. But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.So the Lord said,“ People of Jerusalem and Judah, you be the judge between me and my vineyard.What more could I have done for my vineyard? I did everything I could. I kept looking for a crop of good grapes. So why did it produce only bad ones?Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence. And the vineyard will be destroyed. I will break down its wall. And people will walk all over my vineyard.I will turn my vineyard into a dry and empty desert. It will not be pruned or taken care of. Thorns and bushes will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”The vineyard of the Lord who rules over all is the nation of Israel. The people of Judah are the vines he took delight in. He kept looking for them to do what is fair. But all he saw was blood being spilled. He kept looking for them to do what is right. But all he heard were cries of suffering.How terrible it will be for you who get too many houses! How terrible for you who get too many fields! Finally there won’t be any space left in the land. Then you will live all alone.

The Spirit of the Lord has filled me with power. He helps me do what is fair. He makes me brave. Now I’m prepared to tell Jacob’s people what they’ve done wrong. I’m ready to tell Israel they’ve sinned.Listen to me, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You hate to do what is fair. You twist everything that is right.You build up Zion by spilling the blood of others. You build Jerusalem by doing what is evil.Your judges take money from people who want special favors. Your priests teach only if they get paid for it. Your prophets won’t tell fortunes unless they receive money. But you still look for the Lord’ s help. You say,“ The Lord is with us. No trouble will come on us.”So because of what you have done, Zion will be plowed up like a field. Jerusalem will be turned into a pile of trash. The temple hill will be covered with bushes and weeds.

“ Go down to see Ahab, the king of Israel. He rules in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab has gone there to take it over.Tell him,‘ The Lord says,“ Haven’t you murdered a man? Haven’t you taken over his property?” ’ Then tell Ahab,‘ The Lord says,“ Dogs licked up Naboth’s blood. In that same place dogs will lick up your blood. Yes, I said your blood!” ’ ”Ahab said to Elijah,“ My enemy! You have found me!”“ I have found you,” he answered.“ That’s because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.So the Lord says,‘ I am going to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy your children after you. I will destroy every male in Israel who is related to you. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free.I will make your royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. You have made me very angry. You have caused Israel to sin.’“ The Lord also says,‘ Dogs will eat up Jezebel near the wall of Jezreel.’“ Some of the people who belong to Ahab will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them.”

“ At that time I will bless Judah and Jerusalem with great success again.I will gather together all the nations. I will bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial. I will judge them for what they have done to my people Israel. They scattered them among the nations. They divided up my land among themselves.They cast lots for my people. They sold boys into slavery to get prostitutes. They sold girls to buy some wine to drink.“ Tyre and Sidon, why are you doing things like that to me? And why are you doing them, all you people in Philistia? Are you trying to get even with me for something I have done? If you are, I will pay you back for it in a quick and speedy way.You took my silver and gold. You carried off my finest treasures to your temples.You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. You wanted to send them far away from their own country.“ But now I will stir them up into action. I will bring them back from the places you sold them to. And I will do to you what you did to them.I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans. The Sabeans are a nation that is far away.” The Lord has spoken.Announce this among the nations. Tell them to prepare for battle. Nations, get your soldiers ready! Bring all your fighting men together and march out to attack.Hammer your plows into swords. Hammer your pruning tools into spears. Let anyone who is weak say,“ I am strong!”Come quickly, all you surrounding nations. Gather together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Lord, send down your soldiers from heaven!

Today I’m calling out to the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you. Suppose you do these things. Then you will quickly die in the land you are going across the Jordan River to take over. You won’t live there very long. You will certainly be destroyed.The Lord will drive you out of your land. He will scatter you among the nations. Only a few of you will remain alive there.

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat. He said,“ There is still one other man we can go to. We can ask the Lord for advice through him. But I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me. He only prophesies bad things. His name is Micaiah. He’s the son of Imlah.”“ You shouldn’t say bad things about him,” Jehoshaphat replied.

Instead, they will use their bows and arrows to strike down the young men. They won’t even show any mercy to babies. They won’t take pity on children.

“‘ On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands.Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands.Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your strength away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted.I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.“‘ After all that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times.I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it.You will work with all your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of your land will not bear any fruit.“‘ Suppose you continue to be my enemy. And suppose you still refuse to listen to me. Then I will multiply your troubles many times because of your sins.I will send wild animals against you. They will kill your children. They will destroy your cattle. There will be so few of you left that your roads will be deserted.“‘ After all those things, suppose you still do not accept my warnings. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.Then I myself will be your enemy. I will make you suffer again and again for your sins.I will send war against you to punish you for breaking my covenant. When you go back into your cities, I will send a plague among you. You will be handed over to your enemies.I will cut off your supply of bread. Ten women will need only one oven to bake your bread. They will weigh out the bread piece by piece. Even when you eat all of it, it will not be enough to satisfy you.“‘ After all that, suppose you still do not listen to me. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.Then I will be angry with you. I will be your enemy. I myself will again punish you for your sins over and over.You will eat the dead bodies of your sons. You will also eat the dead bodies of your daughters.I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods. I will pull down your incense altars. I will pile up your dead bodies on the lifeless statues of your gods. And I will turn away from you.I will completely destroy your cities. I will destroy your places of worship. The pleasant smell of your offerings will not give me any delight.I myself will destroy your land so completely that your enemies who live there will be shocked.I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and hunt you down. Your land and your cities will be completely destroyed.Then the deserted land will enjoy its sabbath years. It will rest. It will not be farmed. It will enjoy its sabbaths. But you will become prisoners in the country of your enemies.The land will rest the whole time it is deserted. It was not able to rest during the sabbaths you lived in it.“‘ Some of you will be left in the lands of your enemies. I will fill your hearts with fear. The sound of a leaf blown by the wind will scare you away. You will run as if you were escaping from swords. You will fall down, even though no one is chasing you.You will trip over one another as if you were running away from the battle. You will run away, even though no one is chasing you. You will not be able to stand and fight against your enemies.While you are still scattered among the nations, you will die. The lands of your enemies will destroy you.You who are left in those lands will become weaker and weaker. You will die because of your sins and the sins of your people who lived before you.“‘ But suppose you admit that both you and your people who lived before you have sinned. You admit the evil and dishonest things you have done against me. And you admit you have become my enemy.What you did made me become your enemy. I let your enemies take you into their land. But suppose you stop being stubborn. You stop being proud. And you pay for your sin.Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will remember my covenant with Isaac. I will remember my covenant with Abraham. I will remember what I said to them about the land.You will leave the land. It will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies deserted because you are not there. You will pay for your sins because you said no to my laws. You turned away from my rules.But even after all that, I will not say no to you or turn away from you. I will not destroy you completely in the land of your enemies. I will not break my covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.Because of you, I will remember the covenant I made with the people of Israel who lived before you. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God. The nations saw me do it. I am the Lord.’ ”These are the orders, the laws and the rules of the covenant the Lord made on Mount Sinai. He made it between himself and the Israelites through Moses.

So he said,“ Go and speak to these people. Tell them,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.’Make the hearts of these people stubborn. Plug up their ears. Close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. And they might turn to me and be healed.”Then I said,“ Lord, how long will it be like that?” He answered,“ It will last until the cities of Israel are destroyed. It will last until no one is living in them. It will last until the houses are deserted. The fields will be completely destroyed.It will last until the Lord has sent everyone far away. The land will be totally deserted.

Here is a prophecy the Lord gave Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh. The prophecy came in a vision and is written in a book. The prophecy is about Nineveh.The Lord is a jealous God who punishes people. He pays them back for the evil things they do. He directs his anger against them. The Lord punishes his enemies. He holds his anger back until the right time to use it.The Lord is slow to get angry. But he is very powerful. The Lord will not let guilty people go without punishing them. When he marches out, he stirs up winds and storms. Clouds are the dust kicked up by his feet.

Elders, listen to me. Pay attention, all you who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life? Did it ever happen to your people who lived long ago?Tell your children about it. Let them tell their children. And let their children tell it to those who live after them.The giant locusts have eaten what the common locusts have left. The young locusts have eaten what the giant locusts have left. And other locusts have eaten what the young locusts have left.Get up and weep, you people who drink too much! Cry, all you who drink wine! Cry because the fresh wine has been taken away from you.The locusts are like a mighty army that has marched into our land. There are so many of them they can’t even be counted. Their teeth are as sharp as a lion’s teeth. They are like the fangs of a female lion.The locusts have completely destroyed our vines. They have wiped out our fig trees. They’ve stripped off the bark and thrown it away. They’ve left the branches bare.My people, mourn like a virgin who is dressed in the clothes of sadness. She is sad because she has lost the young man she was going to marry.No one brings grain offerings and drink offerings to the Lord’ s house anymore. So the priests who serve the Lord are filled with sorrow.Our fields are wiped out. The ground is dried up. The grain is destroyed. The fresh wine is gone. And there isn’t any more olive oil.Farmers, be sad. Cry, you who grow vines. Mourn because the wheat and barley are gone. The crops in the fields are destroyed.The vines and fig trees are dried up. The pomegranate, palm and apple trees don’t have any fruit on them. In fact, all the trees in the fields are dried up. And my people’s joy has faded away.Priests, put on the clothing of sadness and mourn. Cry, you who serve at the altar. Come, you who serve my God in the temple. Spend the night dressed in the clothes of sadness. Weep because no one brings grain offerings and drink offerings to the house of your God anymore.Announce a holy fast. Tell the people not to eat anything. Gather them together for a special service. Send for the elders and all who live in the land. Have them come to the house of the Lord your God. And pray to him.The day of the Lord is near. How sad it will be on that day! The Mighty One is coming to destroy you.Our food has been taken away right in front of our eyes. There isn’t any joy or gladness in the house of our God.The seeds have dried up in the ground. The grain is also gone. The storerooms have been destroyed. The barns are broken down.Listen to the cattle groan! The herds wander around. They don’t have any grass to eat. The flocks of sheep are also suffering.Lord, I call out to you. Fire has burned up the desert grasslands. Flames have destroyed all the trees in the fields.Even the wild animals cry out to you for help. The streams of water have dried up. Fire has burned up the desert grasslands.

Make sure there isn’t a man or woman among your families or tribes who turns away from the Lord our God. No one must worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that kind of worship doesn’t spread like bitter poison through your whole community.Some people who worship those gods will hear the promise that seals the covenant I’m making. They think they can escape trouble by what they’re saying. They say,“ We’ll be safe, even though we’re stubborn and go our own way.” But they will bring trouble on the whole land.The Lord will never be willing to forgive those people. His great anger will blaze out against them. All the curses I’ve written down in this book will fall on them. And the Lord will erase any mention of them from the earth.He will find those people in all the tribes of Israel and give them nothing but trouble. That will agree with all the curses of the covenant. They are written down in this Book of the Law.Even your children’s children will see the troubles that have fallen on the land. They’ll see the sicknesses the Lord has brought on it. People who come from countries far away will also see those things.The whole land will be burned up. Nothing but salt and sulfur will be left. Nothing will be planted there. Nothing will grow there. In fact, nothing will even start to grow there. The land will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim after they were destroyed. The Lord wiped out those cities because he was very angry.All the nations will ask,“ Why has the Lord done this to the land? What could have made him so very angry?”And they will hear the answer,“ It’s because the people living there have broken the covenant of the Lord. He’s the God of their people of long ago. He made that covenant with them when he brought them out of Egypt.They went off and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to them. They hadn’t known anything about those gods before. The Lord hadn’t given those gods to them.So the Lord became very angry with this land. He brought on it all the curses written down in this book.The Lord’ s anger blazed out against his people. So he pulled them up out of their land. He threw them into another land. And that’s where they are now.”

The Lord is going to completely destroy everything on earth. He will twist its surface. He’ll scatter those who live on it.Priests and people alike will suffer. So will masters and their servants. And so will women and their female servants. Sellers and buyers alike will suffer. So will those who borrow and those who lend. And so will those who owe money and those who lend it.The earth will be completely destroyed. Everything of value will be taken out of it. That’s what the Lord has said.The earth will dry up completely. The world will dry up and waste away. The heavens will fade away along with the earth.The earth is polluted by its people. They haven’t obeyed the laws of the Lord. They haven’t done what he told them to do. They’ve broken the covenant that will last forever.So the Lord will send a curse on the earth. Its people will pay for what they’ve done. They will be burned up. Very few of them will be left.The vines and fresh wine will dry up completely. Those who used to have a good time will groan.The happy sounds of tambourines will be gone. The noise of those who enjoy wild parties will stop. The joyful music of harps will become silent.People will no longer sing as they drink wine. Beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.Destroyed cities will lie empty. People will lock themselves inside their houses.In the streets people will cry out for wine. All joy will turn into sadness. All joyful sounds will be driven out of the earth.All the buildings will be knocked down. Every city gate will be smashed to pieces.That’s how it will be on the earth. And that’s how it will be among the nations. It will be as when workers knock all but a few olives off the trees. It will be like a vine that has only a few grapes left after the harvest.Those who are left alive will shout for joy. People from the west will praise the Lord because he is the King.So give glory to him, you who live in the east. Honor the name of the Lord, you who are in the islands of the sea. He is the God of Israel.From one end of the earth to the other we hear singing. People are saying,“ Give glory to the God who always does what is right.” But I said,“ I feel very bad. I’m getting weaker and weaker. How terrible it is for me! People turn against one another. They can’t be trusted. So they turn against one another.”Listen, you people of the earth. Terror, a pit and a trap are waiting for you.Anyone who runs away from the terror will fall into the pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The Lord will open the windows of the skies. He will flood the land. The foundations of the earth will shake.The earth will be broken up. It will split open. It will be shaken to pieces.The earth will be unsteady like someone who is drunk. It will sway like a tent in the wind. Its sin will weigh so heavily on it that it will fall. It will never get up again.At that time the Lord will punish the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens above. He will also punish the kings on the earth below.They will be brought together like prisoners in chains. They’ll be locked up in prison. After many days the Lord will punish them.The Lord who rules over all will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. The elders of the city will be there. They will see his great glory. His rule will be so glorious that the sun and moon will be too ashamed to shine.

When Israel grew fat, they became stubborn. When they were filled with food, they became fat and heavy. They left the God who made them. They turned away from the Rock who saved them.They made him jealous by serving false gods. They made him angry by worshiping statues of gods. He hated those gods.The people sacrificed to those false gods, not to God. They hadn’t known anything about those false gods. Those gods were new to them. Their people of long ago didn’t worship them.But then they deserted the Rock. He was their Father. They forgot the God who created them.When the Lord saw this, he turned away from them. His sons and daughters made him angry.“ I will turn my face away from them,” he said.“ I will see what will happen to them in the end. They are sinful people. They are unfaithful children.They made me jealous by serving what is not even a god. They made me angry by worshiping worthless statues of gods. I will use people who are not a nation to make them jealous. A nation that has no understanding will make them angry.My anger will start a fire. It will burn all the way down to the kingdom of the dead. It will eat up the earth and its crops. It will set the base of the mountains on fire.“ I will pile troubles on my people. I will shoot all my arrows at them.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.In the streets their children will be killed by swords. Their homes will be filled with terror. The young men and women will die. The babies and old people will die.I said I would scatter them. I said I would erase their name from human memory.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.’ ”Israel is a nation that doesn’t have any sense. They can’t understand anything.I wish they were wise. Then they would understand what’s coming. They’d realize what would happen to them in the end.How could one person chase a thousand? How could two make ten thousand run away? It couldn’t happen unless their Rock had deserted them. It couldn’t take place unless the Lord had given them up.Their rock is not like our Rock. Even our enemies know that.Their vine comes from the vines of Sodom. It comes from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison. Their bunches of grapes taste bitter.Their wine is like the poison of snakes. It’s like the deadly poison of cobras.The Lord says,“ I have kept all those terrible things stored away. I have kept them sealed up in my strongbox.I punish people. I will pay them back. The time will come when their feet will slip. Their day of trouble is near. Very soon they will be destroyed.”The Lord will come to the aid of his people. He’ll show tender love to those who serve him. He will know when their strength is gone. He’ll see that no one at all is left.He’ll say,“ Where are their gods now? Where is the rock they went to for safety?Where are the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices? Where are the gods who drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let those gods rise up to help you! Let them keep you safe!“ Look! I am the One! There is no other God except me. I put some people to death. I bring others to life. I have wounded, and I will heal. No one can save you from my power.I raise my hand to heaven. Here is the promise I make. You can be sure that I live forever.And you can be just as sure that I will sharpen my flashing sword. My hand will hold it when I judge. I will get even with my enemies. I will pay back those who hate me.I will make my arrows drip with blood. My sword will destroy people. It will kill some. It will even kill prisoners. It will cut off the heads of enemy leaders.”You nations, be full of joy. Be joyful together with God’s people. The Lord will get even with his enemies. He will pay them back for killing those who serve him. He will wipe away the sin of his land and people.Moses spoke all the words of this song to the people. Joshua, the son of Nun, was with him.

But suppose you don’t obey the Lord your God. And you aren’t careful to obey all his commands and rules I’m giving you today. Then he will send curses on you. They’ll catch up with you. Here are those curses.You will be cursed in the cities. You will be cursed out in the country.Your baskets and bread pans will be cursed.Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. Your calves and lambs will be cursed.You will be cursed no matter where you go.The Lord will send curses on you. You won’t know what’s going on. In everything you do, he will be angry with you. You will be destroyed suddenly and completely. This will happen because you did an evil thing when you deserted the Lord.He will send all kinds of sicknesses on you. He’ll send them until he has destroyed you. He’ll remove you from the land you are entering to take as your own.The Lord will make you sick and very weak. He will strike you with fever and swelling. He’ll send burning heat. There won’t be any rain. The hot winds will completely dry up your crops. All those things will happen until you die.The sky above you will be like bronze. The ground beneath you will be like iron.The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder. It will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.The Lord will help your enemies win the battle over you. You will come at them from one direction. But you will run away from them in every direction. All the kingdoms on earth will be completely shocked when they see you.Birds and wild animals will eat up your dead bodies. There won’t be anyone left to scare them away.The Lord will send boils on you, just like the ones he sent on the Egyptians. You will have growths in your bodies and boils on your skin. You will itch all over. No one will be able to heal you.The Lord will make you lose your mind. He will make you blind. You won’t know what’s going on.Even at noon you will have to feel your way around like a blind person in the dark. You won’t have success in anything you do. Day after day you will be robbed and treated badly. No one will be able to save you.You and a woman will promise to marry each other. But another man will take her and rape her. You will build a house. But you won’t live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you won’t eat a single grape from it.Your ox will be killed right in front of your eyes. But you won’t eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you by force. And you will never get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. No one will be able to save them.Your children will be given to another nation. Day after day you will watch for them to come back. But you will only wear out your eyes. You won’t be able to help your children.A nation you don’t know anything about will eat what you work to produce on your land. You will only be treated badly as long as you live.The things you see will make you lose your mind.The Lord will send painful boils on your knees and legs. No one will be able to heal them. They will cover you from head to toe.The Lord will drive you out of the land. And he will drive out the king you place over yourselves. All of you will go to another nation. You and your people of long ago didn’t know anything about them. There you will worship other gods. They will be made out of wood and stone.You will look very bad to all the nations where the Lord sends you. They will be completely shocked when they see you. They will mock you and make fun of you.You will plant many seeds in your field. But you will gather very little food. Locusts will eat it up.You will plant vineyards and take care of them. But you won’t drink the wine. You won’t gather the grapes. Worms will eat them up.You will have olive trees through your whole country. But you won’t use the oil. The olives will drop off the trees.You will have children. But you won’t be able to keep them. They’ll be taken away as prisoners.Large numbers of locusts will eat up the leaves on all your trees. They will also eat up the crops on your land.Outsiders who live among you will become your leaders. They will rise higher and higher. But you will sink lower and lower.They will lend money to you. But you won’t be able to lend money to them. They will be the leaders. But you will be the followers.The Lord your God will send all these curses on you. They will follow you everywhere. They’ll catch up with you. You will be under the Lord’ s curse until you are destroyed. That’s because you didn’t obey him. You didn’t keep the commands and rules he gave you.These curses will remain as signs and awful judgments against you and your children after you forever.You didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness when times were good.So he will send enemies against you. You will have to serve them. You will be hungry and thirsty. You will be naked and poor. The Lord will put the iron chains of slavery around your necks until he has destroyed you.The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will come from the ends of the earth. It will dive down on you like an eagle. You won’t understand that nation’s language.Its people will look mean. They won’t have any respect for old people. They won’t show any kindness to young people.They will eat up the young animals among your livestock. They’ll eat up the crops on your land. They’ll destroy you. They won’t leave you any grain, olive oil or fresh wine. They won’t leave you any calves or lambs. They’ll destroy you.They’ll surround all the cities throughout your whole land. They’ll attack those cities until the high, strong walls you trust in fall down. That’s what will happen to the cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you.Your enemies will surround you and attack you. They will make you suffer greatly. So you will eat your own children. You will eat the dead bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.There may be a gentle and caring man among you. But he will treat his own brother badly. He’ll be just as mean to the wife he loves and to any of his children who are still alive.He won’t give to a single one of them any part of the dead bodies of his children that he’s eating. It will be all he has left to eat. That’s how much your enemies will make you suffer when they surround all your cities and attack them.There may be a gentle and caring woman among you. She wouldn’t even touch the ground with her feet without first putting her sandals on. But she will not share anything with the husband she loves. She won’t share with her own children either.She will eat what comes out of her body after she has a baby. Then she’ll even eat her baby. She won’t share it with anyone in her family. In her great hunger she’ll plan to eat it in secret. There won’t be anything else for her to eat because the city she lives in will be surrounded. That’s an example of how much your enemies will make you suffer when they are attacking your cities.Be careful to follow all the words of this law. They are written in this scroll. Have respect for the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God. If you don’t,he will send terrible plagues on you and your children after you. He’ll send horrible and lasting troubles. He’ll make you very sick for a long time.He’ll bring on you all the sicknesses you were afraid of getting when you were in Egypt. You won’t be able to get rid of them.The Lord will also bring on you all other kinds of sickness and trouble. I haven’t even written those down in this Book of the Law. You will be destroyed.At one time you were as many as the stars in the sky. But there will only be a few of you left. That’s because you didn’t obey the Lord your God.It pleased the Lord to give you success and to cause there to be many of you. But it will please him just as much to wipe you out and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to take as your own.Then the Lord will scatter you among all the nations. He’ll spread you around from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship statues of gods made out of wood and stone. You and your people of long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods.Among those nations you won’t find any peace. There won’t be any place where you can make your home and rest your feet. The Lord will give you minds filled with worry. He’ll give you eyes worn out from looking for help. You won’t have any hope in your hearts.Your lives will always be in danger. You will be filled with fear night and day. You will never be sure you are safe.In the morning you will say,“ We wish it were evening!” In the evening you will say,“ We wish it were morning!” Your hearts will be filled with fear. The things you see will terrify you.The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. He’ll send you on a journey I said you should never have to make again. You will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves in Egypt. But no one will buy you.

A man of God came to Eli. He told him,“ The Lord says,‘ I made myself clearly known to your relatives who lived long ago. I did it when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s rule.At that time, I chose Aaron from your family line to be my priest. I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel. I told him to go up to my altar. I told him to burn incense. I chose him to wear a linen apron when he served me. I also gave his family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.Why don’t you treat my sacrifices and offerings with respect? I require them to be brought to the house where I live. Why do you honor your sons more than me? Why do you fatten yourselves on the best parts of every offering that is made by my people Israel?’“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He announced,‘ I promised that members of your family line would serve me as priests forever.’ But now the Lord announces,‘ I will not let that happen! I will honor those who honor me. But I will turn away from those who look down on me.The time is coming when I will cut your life short. I will also cut short the lives of those in your family line of priests. No one in your family line will grow old.You will see nothing but trouble in the house where I live. Good things will still happen to Israel. But no one in your family line will ever grow old.

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,“ You are going to join the members of your family who have already died. The Israelites will not be faithful to me. They will soon join themselves to the false gods that are worshiped in the land they are entering. The people will desert me. They will break the covenant I made with them.In that day I will become angry with them. I will desert them. I will turn my face away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say,‘ Trouble has come on us. Our God isn’t with us!’

The Lord said to Samuel,“ Pay attention! I am about to do something terrible in Israel. It will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.At that time I will do everything to Eli and his family that I said I would. I will finish what I have started.I told Eli I would punish his family forever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them.So I made a promise to the family of Eli. I said,‘ The sins of Eli’s family will never be paid for by bringing sacrifices or offerings.’ ”