17 But those who trust in idols
and esteem their images as gods
shall retreat in utter confusion.
18 O you deaf, listen; O you blind, look and see!
19 Who is blind but my own servant,
or so deaf as the messenger I have sent?
Who is blind like those I have commissioned,
as uncomprehending as the servant of Jehovah—
20 seeing much but not giving heed,
with open ears hearing nothing?
21 It is the will of Jehovah that,
because of his righteousness,
they magnify the law and become illustrious.
22 Instead, they are a people plundered and sacked,
all of them trapped in holes,
hidden away in dungeons.
They have become a prey, yet no one rescues them,
a spoil, yet none demands restitution.
23 Who among you hearing this
will take heed of it hereafter,
and be mindful and obey?
24 Who is it that hands Jacob over to plunder
and Israel to despoilers, if not Jehovah,
against whom we have sinned?
For they have no desire to walk in his ways
or obey his law.
25 So in the heat of his anger
he pours out on them the violence of war,
till it envelopes them in flames—
yet they remain unaware—
till it sets them on fire;
yet they take it not to heart.