The Lord will judge the Israelites
1I saw the Lord standing at the altar.
He said: ‘Break down the beautiful tops
of the pillars of the temple,
so that the frames of the doors tremble
and pieces of the pillars fall down
on the people's heads.
I will kill the people
who are still_alive with my sword.
No one will flee. Not one person will escape.
2If people try to dig a hole very deep into the ground,
I will take them out of there.
If they try to climb up to heaven,
I will take them down from there.
3If they try to hide on top of Mount Carmel,
I will look for them and find them.
If they try to hide at the bottom of the sea,
I will tell the snake to bite them.
4If their enemies catch them
and take them away to another land,
I will cause them to die in war.
I will look at them, but not to help them,
I will look at them to see that they suffer.’
5The Lord rules over all.
If He touches the earth, it melts away,
and everyone who lives on the earth mourns.
All the people in the land will become afraid
and run away like the water in the Nile River
that becomes full and then flows away.
6The Lord has built his palace in heaven.
He has made the expanse and put it over the earth.
He brings the clouds from the sea
and He makes it rain on land.
His name is the Lord.
The Israelites are the same as other nations
7The Lord said:
‘Israelites, you are like the people
of the land of Cush to Me.
You are no different from them.
This is true:
I have brought the Israelites out of Egypt,
but I have also brought the Philistines
from the Caphtor Island
and I have brought the Arameans
from the land of Kir.
8And now I see that the Israelites
are a nation that does a lot of sin.
I will take you away and destroy you.
But I will not cause all of you to die.
9I will tell the nations what to do.
I will shake the people of Israel among the nations
like someone who shakes wheat in a sieve.
The grains_of_wheat will not fall through the sieve
and onto the ground.
That is how I will shake the Israelites in the sieve.
10All the sinners among my people
will die in war.
They say: “You will not punish us and let us suffer.”
But they will die.’
The descendants of King David will rule again
11The Lord said:
‘The time will come when the descendants
of King David will rule again. I will do it.
They are like a house that has fallen down,
like a wall that has been destroyed.
But I will build the house again,
and it will again be as it was before.
12My people will defeat the Edomites
who are still_alive.
They will also defeat the other nations
that belonged to Me.’
This is what the Lord says and He will do it.
The Lord will help his people
13The Lord said:
‘The time will come when the Israelites
will have such a lot of wheat
that they won't be able to harvest it all
before they start ploughing again for the next year.
They will still be trampling grapes and making wine
when it is time for them to plant new vines.
There will be so much wine that it will flow
from the mountains and hills.
14I will bring back my people, the Israelites.
They will build the towns again
that the enemies have destroyed,
so that the Israelites can live there.
They will plant vineyards
and they will drink the wine.
They will make gardens
and they will eat the fruit.
15I will help them
and they will live in their own land.
No one will take them away from the land
that I have given them.’
This is what the Lord your God says.
