Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic. For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard.

“Indeed, the Lord will call you back like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

For I will not be hostile forever or perpetually angry, for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, the life-giving breath I created.

He sees there is no advocate; he is shocked that no one intervenes. So he takes matters into his own hands; his desire for justice drives him on.

For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times.

But be happy and rejoice forevermore over what I am about to create! For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy, and her people to be a source of happiness.

Too bad for the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve.

Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge.

You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.

Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit; no place is untouched.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself.

Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes,

Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; he will beat them with a club.

For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion.

Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”

“But you did not call for me, O Jacob; you did not long for me, O Israel.

For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and then payback time arrived.

I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.”

For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”

“Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”