¹⁶ then even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they wouldn’t be able to deliver even their sons or daughters. They would only save themselves, but the land would become desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if I were to bring war to^[a] that land and say, ‘Hey, sword! Pass throughout the land so I can destroy both man and beasts in it,’ ¹⁸ though these three men lived there, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they couldn’t deliver their own sons and daughters. They would only save themselves.