“Now what are you doing by going to Egypt [in search of an ally],
To drink the [muddy] waters of the Nile?
Or what are you doing by going to Assyria [in search of an ally],
To drink the [muddy] waters of the Euphrates?

“For this reason the earth shall mourn
And the heavens above shall become dark,
Because I have spoken, I have decided,
And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.”

Thus says the Lord regarding all My evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, “Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

But if [any nation] will not listen and obey, I will [completely] uproot and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”

“Judah mourns
And her gates languish;
Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes
And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

At one moment I might [suddenly] speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will uproot and break down and destroy;

For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overwhelm them, and I will plant them and not uproot them.

“I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.

It will be that as I have watched over them to uproot and to break down, to overthrow, destroy, and afflict with disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant [with good],” says the Lord.

Say this to him, ‘The Lord speaks in this way, “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and that which I have planted I will uproot, that is, the whole land.”