1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to
1:2 “I will destroy
1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea.
(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.)
I will remove
1:4 “I will attack
and all who live in Jerusalem.
I will remove
as well as the very memory
1:5 I will remove
those who swear allegiance to the Lord
1:6 and those who turn their backs on
and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.”
1:7 Be silent before the Lord God,
for the Lord’s day of judgment
The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal;
he has ritually purified
1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,
I will punish the princes
and all who wear foreign styles of clothing.
1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold,
who fill the house of their master
1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,
“a loud cry will go up
wailing from the city’s newer district,
and a loud crash
1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district,
for all the merchants
and those who count money
1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin,
those who think to themselves,
‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’