A trap grabs hold of their heels. It refuses to let them go.A trap lies in their path. A rope to catch them is hidden on the ground.Terrors alarm them on every side. They follow them every step of the way.Trouble would like to eat them up. Danger waits for them when they fall.It eats away parts of their skin. Death itself feeds on their arms and legs.They are torn away from the safety of their tents. They are marched off to the one who rules over death.Fire races through their tents. Burning sulfur is scattered over their homes.Their roots dry up under them. Their branches dry up above them.No one on earth remembers them. Their names are forgotten in the land.They are driven from light into the place of darkness. They are thrown out of the world.Their family dies out among their people. No one is left where they used to live.
Each year the people planted their crops. When they did, the Midianites came into the country and attacked it. So did the Amalekites and other tribes from the east.They camped on the land. They destroyed the crops all the way to Gaza. They didn’t spare any living thing for Israel. They didn’t spare sheep or cattle or donkeys.The Midianites came up with their livestock and tents. They came like huge numbers of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels. They came into the land to destroy it.The Midianites made the Israelites very poor. So they cried out to the Lord for help.
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.
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.
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.
