Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

“I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself; no one from the nations joined me. I stomped on them in my anger; I trampled them down in my rage. Their juice splashed on my garments, and stained all my clothes.

“Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.

At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They removed the defenses of Judah. At that time you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.

They will bring back all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

Jerusalem will bring me joy, and my people will bring me happiness. The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow will never be heard in her again.

They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water.

Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards, and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts; no one treads out juice in the wine vats – I have brought the joyful shouts to an end.

Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day.

Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word, you who mock, you rulers of these people who reside in Jerusalem!

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

These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars.

At that time the Lord will punish the heavenly forces in the heavens and the earthly kings on the earth.

For this is what the sovereign Lord says: “In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

“A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” says the Lord.

Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.

At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing in the earth.