I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled.

I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices ¹  – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire ²  – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ ³ 

Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

The Lord spoke about Kedar ¹  and the kingdoms of Hazor ²  that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered. “Army of Babylon, ³  go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert. ⁴ 

I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. ¹  They will winnow her and strip her land bare. ²  This will happen when ³  they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her. ⁴ 

By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall – all of them are the most terrifying among the nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed.

If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; ¹  if he releases them, ²  they destroy ³  the land.

Kings will come against it with their armies. ¹  They will encamp in siege all around it. ²  Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. ³ 

Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ ¹ 

They have committed treason ¹  against the Lord, because they bore illegitimate children. Soon ²  the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.

But Saul was trying to destroy ¹  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ²  both men and women and put them in prison. ³ 

Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”

But seven years of famine will occur ¹  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ²  the land.

The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. ¹  They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. ² 

When they invaded ¹  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ²  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ³  They came to devour ⁴  the land.

¹ Certainly you must have heard! ²  Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned ³  it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. ⁴ 

Look, I create the craftsman, who fans the coals into a fire and forges a weapon. ¹  I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn ¹  because of all the disasters that have happened to it. ² 

“Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals.

His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ¹  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ²  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ³