Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things, let this be known throughout the earth!

They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth.

“I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” says the Lord who commands armies.

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure; the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.

Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” Indeed, the Lord God of Israel has spoken.

The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook kingdoms; he gave the order to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.

Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

The earth will be completely devastated and thoroughly ransacked. For the Lord has decreed this judgment.

Yes, as your judgments unfold, O Lord, we wait for you. We desire your fame and reputation to grow.

O Lord, you make us secure, for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.

O Lord, our God, masters other than you have ruled us, but we praise your name alone.

You have made the nation larger, O Lord, you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, you have extended all the borders of the land.

As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver and strains and cries out because of her labor pains, so were we because of you, O Lord.

I, the Lord, protect it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day, so no one can harm it.

At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

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

This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord; the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel.