The Lord who commands armies planned it – to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him.

The land dries up and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays. Sharon is like the desert; Bashan and Carmel are parched.

Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?”

You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand.

Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. Yes, hawks will gather there, each with its mate.

Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!

I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’

Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; his military power establishes his rule. Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him.

Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city! For uncircumcised and unclean pagans will no longer invade you.

For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your children will conquer nations and will resettle desolate cities.

Look, I create the craftsman, who fans the coals into a fire and forges a weapon. I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,” says the Lord, “and I will heal them.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.

Look all around you! They all gather and come to you – your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent!

I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me.

Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!

So, this is what the Lord says: ‘I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.’