and they cast lots for my people. They traded ¹  a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. ² 

Rush forth with ¹  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Come, stomp the grapes, ²  for the winepress is full! The vats overflow. Indeed, their evil is great! ³ 

Then the Lord became ¹  zealous for his land; he had compassion on his people.

To you, O Lord, I call out for help, ¹  for fire ²  has burned up ³  the grassy pastures, ⁴  flames have razed ⁵  all the trees in the fields.

Be distressed, ¹  farmers; wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley. For the harvest of the field has perished.

How awful that day will be! ¹  For the day of the Lord is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer. ² 

(4:1) ¹  For look! In those ²  days and at that time I will return the exiles ³  to Judah and Jerusalem. ⁴ 

The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem ¹  his voice bellows out. ²  The heavens ³  and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens ⁴  of Israel.

For you took my silver and my gold and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces. ¹ 

Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! ¹ 

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for a holy war! Call out the warriors! Let all these fighting men approach and attack! ¹ 

Even the wild animals ¹  cry out to you; ²  for the river beds ³  have dried up; fire has destroyed ⁴  the grassy pastures. ⁵ 

Let the nations be roused and let them go up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

The grains of seed ¹  have shriveled beneath their shovels. ²  Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.

Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ¹  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ² 

They sound like ¹  chariots rumbling ²  over mountain tops, like the crackling ³  of blazing fire consuming stubble, like the noise of ⁴  a mighty army ⁵  being drawn up for battle. ⁶ 

Do not fear, wild animals! ¹  For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass. Indeed, the trees bear their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest. ² 

Blow the trumpet ¹  in Zion; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear, for the day of the Lord is about to come. Indeed, ²  it is near! ³ 

For a nation ¹  has invaded ²  our ³  land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. ⁴  Their teeth are like those ⁵  of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness. ⁶ 

Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what you have done! ¹