Israel to be destroyed

1I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

‘Strike the tops of the pillars

so that the thresholds shake.

Bring them down on the heads of all the people;

those who are left I will kill with the sword.

Not one will get away,

none will escape.

2Though they dig down to the depths below,

from there my hand will take them.

Though they climb up to the heavens above,

from there I will bring them down.

3Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,

there I will hunt them down and seize them.

Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,

there I will command the serpent to bite them.

4Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,

there I will command the sword to slay them.

‘I will keep my eye on them

for harm and not for good.’

5The Lord, the Lord Almighty –

he touches the earth and it melts,

and all who live in it mourn;

the whole land rises like the Nile,

then sinks like the river of Egypt;

6he builds his lofty palace9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. in the heavens

and sets its foundation9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. on the earth;

he calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out over the face of the land –

the Lord is his name.

7‘Are not you Israelites

the same to me as the Cushites9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region?’

declares the Lord.

‘Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,

the Philistines from Caphtor9:7 That is, Crete

and the Arameans from Kir?

8‘Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord

are on the sinful kingdom.

I will destroy it

from the face of the earth.

Yet I will not totally destroy

the descendants of Jacob,’

declares the Lord.

9‘For I will give the command,

and I will shake the people of Israel

among all the nations

as grain is shaken in a sieve,

and not a pebble will reach the ground.

10All the sinners among my people

will die by the sword,

all those who say,

“Disaster will not overtake or meet us.”

Israel’s restoration

11‘In that day

‘I will restore David’s fallen shelter –

I will repair its broken walls

and restore its ruins –

and will rebuild it as it used to be,

12so that they may possess the remnant of Edom

and all the nations that bear my name,9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me’

declares the Lord, who will do these things.

13‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,

‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the ploughman

and the planter by the one treading grapes.

New wine will drip from the mountains

and flow from all the hills,

14and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel

‘They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.

They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;

they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15I will plant Israel in their own land,

never again to be uprooted

from the land I have given them,’

says the Lord your God.