<p class="poetry">At that timep> <p class="poetry">tribute will be brought to the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies,p> <p class="poetry">by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,p> <p class="poetry">a people that are feared far and wide,p> <p class="poetry">a nation strong and victorious,p> <p class="poetry">whose land rivers divide.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The tribute<n id="2" /> will be brought to the place where the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">For with mocking lips and a foreign tonguep> <p class="poetry">he will speak to these people.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">that sends messengers by sea,p> <p class="poetry">who glide over the water&#8217;s surface in boats made of papyrus.p> <p class="poetry">Go, you swift messengers,p> <p class="poetry">to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">to a people that are feared far and wide,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">to a nation strong and victorious,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">whose land rivers divide.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Indeed, a man will grab his brotherp> <p class="poetry">right in his father&#8217;s house<n id="1" /> and say,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;You own a coat &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">you be our leader!p> <p class="poetry">This heap of ruins will be under your control.&#8217;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t be so happy, all you Philistines,p> <p class="poetry">just because the club that beat you has been broken!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For a viper will grow out of the serpent&#8217;s root,p> <p class="poetry">and its fruit will be a darting adder.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">like heat<n id="1" /> in a dry land,p> <p class="poetry">you humble the boasting foreigners.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.<n id="4" />p>

&#8220;Ask for a confirming sign from the <sc>Lordsc> your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">Never again will one of her infants live just a few days<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">or an old man die before his time.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">anyone who fails to reach<n id="4" /> the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.p>

<p class="poetry">Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a sword not made by humankind will destroy them.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They will run away from this sword<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.p>

<p class="poetry">Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!p> <p class="poetry">You<n id="1" /> will see Jerusalem,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">a peaceful settlement,p> <p class="poetry">a tent that stays put;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">its stakes will never be pulled up;p> <p class="poetry">none of its ropes will snap in two.p>

<p class="poetry">We are all like one who is unclean,p> <p class="poetry">all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">We all wither like a leaf;p> <p class="poetry">our sins carry us away like the wind.p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> has made them undiscerning;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they lead Egypt astray in all she does,p> <p class="poetry">so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;p> <p class="poetry">they are a burdenp> <p class="poetry">that I am tired of carrying.p>

<p class="poetry">For this is what the sovereign master<n id="1" /> has told me:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Go, post a guard!p> <p class="poetry">He must report what he sees.p>

<p class="poetry">Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">So a strong nation will extol you;p> <p class="poetry">the towns of<n id="1" /> powerful nations will fear you.p>

<p class="poetry">Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdomp> <p class="poetry">and all her officials will disappear.<n id="1" />p>

<n id="1" /><p class="poetry">All your leaders ran away together &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">they fled to a distant place;p> <p class="poetry">all your refugees<n id="2" /> were captured together &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">they were captured without a single arrow being shot.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed,<n id="1" /> like one of the large sacred trees<n id="2" /> or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down.<n id="3" /> That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s spirit will rest on him<n id="1" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="4" />p>