Sinful Israelites Will Die by the Sword

1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said,

“Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will quake,

And break them on the heads of them all!

Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword;

Not one of them who can flee will flee,

And not one of them who can survive will escape.

2Though they dig into Sheol,

From there will My hand take them;

And though they ascend to heaven,

From there will I bring them down.

3And though they hide on the [†]top of Carmel,

From there I will search them out and take them;

And though they conceal themselves from My eyes on the floor of the sea,

From there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

4And though they go into captivity before their enemies,

From there I will command the sword that it kill them,

And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

5Now Lord Yahweh of hosts,

The One who touches the land so that it melts,

And all those who inhabit it mourn,

And all of it rises up like the Nile

And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

6The One who builds His [†]upper chambers in the heavens

And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth;

The One who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the face of the earth;

Yahweh is His name.

7“Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me,

O sons of Israel?” declares Yahweh.

“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,

And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

8Behold, the eyes of Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom,

And I will destroy it from the face of the earth;

Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”

Declares Yahweh.

9“For behold, I am commanding,

And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations

As grain is shaken in a sieve,

But not a [†]kernel will fall to the ground.

10All the sinners of My people will die by the sword,

Those who say, ‘The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’

Yahweh Will Rebuild Israel

11“In that day I will raise up the fallen [†]booth of David

And wall up its breaches;

I will also raise up its ruins

And rebuild it as in the ancient days,

12That they may possess the remnant of Edom

And all the [†]nations who are called by My name,”

Declares Yahweh who does this.

13“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh,

“When the plowman will overtake the reaper

And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;

When the mountains will drip [†]sweet wine

And all the hills will melt.

14Also I will restore the [†]captivity of My people Israel,

And they will rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;

They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine

And make gardens and eat their fruit.

15I will also plant them on their land,

And they will not again be uprooted from their land

Which I have given them,”

Says Yahweh your God.