I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of Jacob; I will wait for him.

It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.

Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have purified you in the furnace of misery.

All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer. I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price, Ethiopia and Seba in place of you.

Since you are precious and special in my sight, and I love you, I will hand over people in place of you, nations in place of your life.

Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways, and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance!

Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” The sovereign Lord who commands armies has spoken.

Bring out some water for the thirsty. You who live in the land of Tema, bring some food for the fugitives.

Her gates will mourn and lament; deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.

Look, I made him a witness to nations, a ruler and commander of nations.”

This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold because of your sins; because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.

The cities of Aroer are abandoned. They will be used for herds, which will lie down there in peace.

They lift their voices and shout joyfully; they praise the majesty of the Lord in the west.

Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. Yes, they will possess a double portion in their land and experience lasting joy.

The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine – tender meat and choicest wine.

Wail, O city gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, all you Philistines! For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, demolished its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins.

The Lord is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”

So a treaty curse devours the earth; its inhabitants pay for their guilt. This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, and are reduced to just a handful of people.