He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace.

It will burn day and night, and smoke will rise from it forever. The land will lie waste age after age, and no one will ever travel through it again.

The kings of the earth who took part in her immorality and lust will cry and weep over the city when they see the smoke from the flames that consume her.

Again they shouted, "Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up forever and ever!"

But the wicked will look around in despair and find that there is no way to escape. Their one hope is that death will come.

But when they saw it, they were amazed; they were afraid and ran away.

There they were seized with fear and anguish, like a woman about to bear a child,

Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had and now are sleeping the sleep of death; all their strength and skill was useless.

Not even fast runners will escape; strong men will lose their strength, and soldiers will not be able to save their own lives.

On that day even the bravest soldiers will drop their weapons and run." The LORD has spoken.

Then the kings of the earth, the rulers and the military chiefs, the rich and the powerful, and all other people, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and under rocks on the mountains.

The terrible day of their anger is here, and who can stand up against it?"