1I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake. Break them into pieces on the heads of everyone; I will kill the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will flee, and not one will escape.
2Even if they dig down into the underworld, my hand will take them from there. Even if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down from there.
3Even if they hide themselves on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search and find them there. Even if they are hidden from my sight at the bottom of the sea, I will command the serpent there, and it will bite them.
4Even if they go into captivity before their enemies, I will command the sword there, and it will kill them. I will watch over them for destruction, not for good.”
5For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is the one who touches the land, and it melts; and everyone who lives in it mourns. The whole land rises up like the Nile River and then sinks back down, just like the Nile of Egypt.
6He is the one who builds his upper rooms in the heavens and establishes his dome over the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth. Yahweh is his name.
7“Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to me, people of Israel?” says Yahweh. “Haven’t I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?”
8“Look, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on this sinful kingdom, and I will wipe it off the face of the earth. However,” says Yahweh, “I will not completely destroy the family of Jacob.”
9“Look, I will give a command,” says Yahweh, “and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations, just like grain is shaken in a sieve, but not one tiny grain will fall to the ground.”
10“All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, those who say, ‘Bad things won’t catch us or happen to us.’
11“On that day, I will rebuild David’s fallen kingdom. I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins, making it like it was long ago.”
12“Then they will take possession of the rest of Edom and all the nations that are called by my name,” says Yahweh, who will do this.
13“Look, the time is coming,” says Yahweh, “when the farmer plowing will catch up to the harvester, and the one stomping grapes will catch up to the one planting seeds. Sweet wine will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills.
14I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
15I will plant them in their own land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says Yahweh your God.