23 ‘aI will heap calamities on them;
bI will exhaust My arrows on them.
24 aThey will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague
bAnd bitter destruction;
cAnd the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,
dWith the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 aOutside the sword will bereave,
And inside terror—
bBoth choice man and virgin,
The nursing baby with the man of gray hair.
26 I would have said, “aI will cut them to pieces;
bI will cause the memory of them to cease from men,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
Lest their adversaries misjudge,
Lest they say, “aOur hand is triumphant,
And Yahweh has not done all this.”’
28 “aFor they are a nation where counsel perishes,
And there is no discernment in them.
29 aWould that they were wise, that they had insight into this,
bThat they would understand their future!
30 aHow could one pursue one thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their bRock had sold them,
And Yahweh had handed them over?
31 Indeed their rock is not like our Rock,
aEven our enemies themselves judge this.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of apoison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
And the deadly poison of cobras.
34 ‘aIs it not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 aVengeance is Mine, and retribution,
bIn due time their foot will stumble;
cFor the day of their disaster is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
36 aFor Yahweh will render justice to His people,
bAnd will have compassion on His slaves,
When He sees that their strength is gone,
And there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 And He will say, ‘aWhere are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 aWho ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
bLet them rise up and help you,
Let them be your hiding place!
39 aSee now that I, I am He,
bAnd there is no god besides Me;
cIt is I who put to death and give life.
dI have wounded, and it is I who heal,
eAnd there is no one who can deliver from My hand.