They do not jostle one another; ¹  each of them marches straight ahead. ²  They burst through ³  the city defenses ⁴  and do not break ranks.

I will avenge ¹  their blood which I had not previously acquitted. It is the Lord who dwells in Zion!

Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! ¹  There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God! ² 

They ¹  charge ²  like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. ³  Each one proceeds on his course; they do not alter ⁴  their path.

It will be ¹  a day of dreadful darkness, ²  a day of foreboding storm clouds, ³  like blackness ⁴  spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army ⁵  – there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come! ⁶ 

Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹  a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden ²  before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them! ³ 

You will have plenty to eat, and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ¹  you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has acted wondrously in your behalf. My people will never again be put to shame.

You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God; there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.

You will be convinced ¹  that I the Lord am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem ²  will be holy – conquering armies ³  will no longer pass through it.

The Lord responded ¹  to his people, “Look! I am about to restore your grain ²  as well as fresh wine and olive oil. You will be fully satisfied. ³  I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.