I observed my Sovereign standing by the altar and saying: Strike the capitals so that the thresholds quake, and make an end of the first of them all. And I will slay the last of them with the sword; not one of them shall escape, and not one of them shall survive.
If they hide on the top of Carmel, There I will search them out and seize them; And if they conceal themselves from My sight At the bottom of the sea, There I will command The serpent to bite them.
It is the Sovereign GOD of Hosts— At whose touch the earth trembles And all who dwell on it mourn, And all of it swells like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
Who built the chambers in heaven And founded the vault on the earth, Who summons the waters of the sea And pours them over the land— Whose name is GOD.
To Me, O Israelites, you are Just like the Cushites —declares GOD. True, I brought Israel up From the land of Egypt, But also the Philistines from Caphtor And the Arameans from Kir.
Behold, my Sovereign GOD is keeping an eye On the sinful kingdom: I will wipe it off The face of the earth! But, I will not wholly wipe out The House of Jacob —declares GOD.
For I will give the order And shake the House of Israel— Through all the nations— As one shakes [sand] in a sieve, And not a pebble falls to the ground.
In that day, I will set up again the fallen booth of David: I will mend its breaches and set up its ruins anew. I will build it firm as in the days of old,
A time is coming —declares GOD— When the plower shall meet the reaper, And the treader of grapes The one who holds the [bag of] seed; When the mountains shall drip wine And all the hills shall wave [with grain].
I will restore My people Israel. They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine; They shall till gardens and eat their fruits.
