A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast.A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path.Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls.It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs.He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.His roots dry up below and his branches wither above.The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land.He is driven from light into the realm of darkness and is banished from the world.He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived.
Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.The sights you see will drive you mad.
a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.
