The Day of the Wrath of the LORD

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.7:2 Or earth 3Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

5“Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster!7:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Syriac, Targum); most Hebrew manuscripts Disaster! A unique disaster! Behold, it comes. 6An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7Your doom7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; also verse 10 has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains. 8Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strikes.

10“Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded. 11Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be pre-eminence among them.7:11 The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain 12The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.7:12 Or abundance; also verses 13, 14 13For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.7:13 The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain

14“They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. 17All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. 18They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 19They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. 20His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them. 21And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. 22I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured7:22 Or secret place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.

23“Forge a chain!7:23 Probably refers to an instrument of captivity For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places7:24 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and those who sanctify them shall be profaned. 25When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26Disaster comes upon disaster; rumour follows rumour. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law7:26 Or instruction perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. 27The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralysed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgements I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”