“‘See!
I am against you!
O inhabitant of the valley!
O rock of the plain!’
Says Yahweh.
‘You who say.
‘Who can come down against us?
Who can enter our places of refuge?’
‘I will punish you
According to the fruit
Of your doings.’
Says Yahweh.
‘I will kindle a fire
In her forest.
It shall devour
All that is around it.’”
Here Yahweh makes a direct attack on the royal palace and its surroundings. The rock of the plain and the inhabitants of the valley refer to the royal palace in Jerusalem. The inhabitants there think that no one could come against them in their place of refuge. However, Yahweh was clear. He was going to punish them according to their fruits, or what they did. Yahweh was going to kindle a fire in this great palace made of wood, as if it were like a great forest. This fire would devour it and all its surroundings.
