and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ¹  I am about to start a fire in you, ²  and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it.

When its branches get brittle, ¹  they break; women come and use them for kindling. ²  For these people lack understanding, ³  therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Therefore, as flaming fire ¹  devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. ²  For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands ³  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

He will not escape the darkness; ¹  a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God’s mouth. ² 

and he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’ ¹ 

The new wine dries up, the vines shrivel up, all those who like to celebrate ¹  groan.

In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.

he must separate ¹  himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar ²  made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice ³  of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ 

when the dust hardens ¹  into a mass, and the clumps of earth stick together?

For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants. ¹ 

In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving ¹  for meat; ²  they challenged God ³  in the desert.

The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” ¹ 

I cared ¹  for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was. ² 

For day and night you tormented me; ¹  you tried to destroy me ²  in the intense heat ³  of summer. ⁴  (Selah)

The earth ¹  dries up ²  and withers, the world shrivels up and withers; the prominent people of the earth ³  fade away.

“When ¹  an unclean spirit ²  goes out of a person, ³  it passes through waterless places ⁴  looking for rest but ⁵  does not find it.

He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself. ¹ 

When such a person ¹  hears the words of this oath he secretly ²  blesses himself ³  and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” ⁴  This will destroy ⁵  the watered ground with the parched. ⁶ 

Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh will be sounded as far as Jahaz. ¹  They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.

Otherwise, I will strip her naked, and expose her like she was when she was born. I will turn her land into a wilderness and make her country a parched land, so that I might kill ¹  her with thirst.