<p class="poetry">Therefore the land will mourn,p> <p class="poetry">and all its inhabitants will perish.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The wild animals,<n id="2" /> the birds of the sky,p> <p class="poetry">and even the fish in the sea will perish.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Listen to this, you elders;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">pay attention,<n id="2" /> all inhabitants of the land.p> <p class="poetry">Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">or in the lifetime<n id="4" /> of your ancestors?<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">Announce a holy fast;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">proclaim a sacred assembly.p> <p class="poetry">Gather the elders and<n id="2" /> all the inhabitants of the landp> <p class="poetry">to the temple of the <sc>Lordsc> your God,p> <p class="poetry">and cry out to the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Blow the trumpet<n id="1" /> in Zion;p> <p class="poetry">sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!p> <p class="poetry">Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,p> <p class="poetry">for the day of the <sc>Lordsc> is about to come.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="2" /> it is near!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Like fire they devour everything in their path;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a flame blazes behind them.p> <p class="poetry">The land looks like the Garden of Eden<n id="2" /> before them,p> <p class="poetry">but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">for nothing escapes them!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?p> <p class="poetry">Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?p>

<p class="poetry">Therefore,&#8221; says the sovereign <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;an enemy will encircle the land.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He will take away your power;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">your fortresses will be looted.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;p> <p class="poetry">he can turn the darkness into morningp> <p class="poetry">and daylight<n id="1" /> into night.p> <p class="poetry">He summons the water of the seasp> <p class="poetry">and pours it out on the earth&#8217;s surface.p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> is his name!p>

When they had completely consumed the earth&#8217;s vegetation, I said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Sovereign <sc>Lordsc>, forgive Israel!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">How can Jacob survive?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">He is too weak!&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Because of this the earth<n id="1" /> will quake,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and all who live in it will mourn.p> <p class="poetry">The whole earth<n id="3" /> will rise like the River Nile,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">it will surge upward<n id="5" /> and then grow calm,<n id="6" /> like the Nile in Egypt.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="poetry">He builds the upper rooms of his palace<n id="1" /> in heavenp> <p class="poetry">and sets its foundation supports<n id="2" /> on the earth.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">He summons the water of the seap> <p class="poetry">and pours it out on the earth&#8217;s surface.p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> is his name.p>

<p class="poetry">I went down<n id="1" /> to the very bottoms<n id="2" /> of the mountains;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">the gates<n id="4" /> of the netherworld<n id="5" /> barred me in<n id="6" /> forever;<n id="7" />p> <p class="poetry">but you brought me<n id="8" /> up from the Pit,<n id="9" /> O <sc>Lordsc>, my God.p>

<p class="poetry">Faithful men have disappeared<n id="1" /> from the land;p> <p class="poetry">there are no godly men left.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">they hunt their own brother with a net.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">God comes<n id="1" /> from Teman,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the sovereign<n id="3" /> one from Mount Paran.<n id="4" /> <i>Selahi>.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">His splendor covers the skies,<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">his glory<n id="7" /> fills the earth.p>

<p class="poetry">Seek the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s favor,<n id="1" /> all you humble people<n id="2" /> of the land who have obeyed his commands!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Strive to do what is right!<n id="4" /> Strive to be humble!<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">Maybe you will be protected<n id="6" /> on the day of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s angry judgment.p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> will terrify them,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">for<n id="2" /> he will weaken<n id="3" /> all the gods of the earth.p> <p class="poetry">All the distant nations will worship the <sc>Lordsc> in their own lands.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.p> <p class="poetry">I will rescue the lame sheep<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and gather together the scattered sheep.p> <p class="poetry">I will take away their humiliationp> <p class="poetry">and make the whole earth admire and respect them.<n id="2" />p>

The riders then agreed with the angel of the <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="1" /> who was standing among the myrtle trees, &#8220;We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.&#8221;

The messenger replied, &#8220;These are the four spirits<n id="1" /> of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

The land will mourn, clan by clan &#8211; the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan<n id="1" /> by itself and their wives by themselves;