Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹  those who also accumulate landed property ²  until there is no land left, ³  and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ⁴ 

At that time ¹  they will growl over their prey, ²  it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ³  One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness. ⁴ 

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ¹  The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,” says the Lord who commands armies.

For the sovereign master, ¹  the Lord who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. ²  In the Valley of Vision ³  people shout ⁴  and cry out to the hill. ⁵ 

“The rebellious ¹  children are as good as dead,” ²  says the Lord, “those who make plans without consulting me, ³  who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ⁴  and thereby compound their sin. ⁵ 

Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; ¹  a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. ²  They will run away from this sword ³  and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

“I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹  Why are you afraid of mortal men, of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ² 

We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. ¹  We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ¹  a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ²  and a snake’s food will be dirt. ³  They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain,” ⁴  says the Lord.

Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ¹  like one of the large sacred trees ²  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ³  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ⁴ 

For he says: “By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, ¹  and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, ²  I brought down rulers. ³ 

that sends messengers by sea, who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus. Go, you swift messengers, to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ¹  to a people that are feared far and wide, ²  to a nation strong and victorious, ³  whose land rivers divide. ⁴ 

At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. ¹  The tribute ²  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ³ 

The one who runs away from the sound of the terror will fall into the pit; ¹  the one who climbs out of the pit, will be trapped by the snare. For the floodgates of the heavens ²  are opened up ³  and the foundations of the earth shake.

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, ¹  those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt’s many chariots ²  and in their many, many horsemen. ³  But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel ⁴  and do not seek help from the Lord.

One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ¹  one who is like a mere ²  shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, ³  “What in the world ⁴  are you doing? Your work lacks skill!” ⁵ 

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. ¹  Then all humankind ²  will recognize that I am the Lord, your deliverer, your protector, ³  the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ⁴ 

Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate ¹  like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give ²  is permanent; the vindication I provide ³  will not disappear. ⁴ 

This is what the Lord says: “When ¹  juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ ²  So I will do for the sake of my servants – I will not destroy everyone. ³