[4:5] Blow the trumpet throughout the land! Shout loud and clear! Tell the people of Judah and Jerusalem to run to the fortified cities.
[4:6] Point the way to Zion! Run for safety! Don't delay! The Lord is bringing disaster and great destruction from the north.
[4:7] Like a lion coming from its hiding place, a destroyer of nations has set out. He is coming to destroy Judah. The cities of Judah will be left in ruins, and no one will live in them.
[4:8] So put on sackcloth, and weep and wail because the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from Judah.
[4:9] The Lord said, “On that day kings and officials will lose their courage; priests will be shocked and prophets will be astonished.”
[4:10] Then I said, “Sovereign Lord, you have completely deceived the people of Jerusalem! You have said there would be peace, but a sword is at their throats.”
[4:11] The time is coming when the people of Jerusalem will be told that a scorching wind is blowing in from the desert toward them. It will not be a gentle wind that only blows away the chaff—
[4:12] the wind that comes at the Lord's command will be much stronger than that! It is the Lord himself who is pronouncing judgment on his people.