¹ Zion will be freed by justice, ²  and her returnees by righteousness. ³ 

“Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me, the sovereign master ¹  has forgotten me.’

So ¹  the sovereign master ²  will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ³  with skin diseases, ⁴  the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ⁵ 

For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ¹  a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ² 

Daughter Zion ¹  is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city. ² 

This very day, standing in Nob, they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain ¹  – at the hill of Jerusalem.

Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel ¹  acts mightily ²  among you!”

How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ¹  Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure; the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, ¹  from Sela in the desert ²  to the hill of Daughter Zion.

The Lord is exalted, ¹  indeed, ²  he lives in heaven; ³  he fills Zion with justice and fairness.

“For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ¹  will accomplish this.

Shake off the dirt! ¹  Get up, captive ²  Jerusalem! Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

Your chosen ¹  cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem ²  is a desolate ruin.

The Lord says, “The women ¹  of Zion are proud. They walk with their heads high ²  and flirt with their eyes. They skip along ³  and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

At that time ¹  the sovereign master ²  will wash the excrement ³  from Zion’s women, he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, ⁴  as he comes to judge and to bring devastation. ⁵ 

Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me ¹  are reminders and object lessons ²  in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

The full moon will be covered up, ¹  the bright sun ²  will be darkened; ³  for the Lord who commands armies will rule ⁴  on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ⁵  in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ⁶ 

those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ¹  They will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, ²  happiness and joy will overwhelm ³  them; grief and suffering will disappear. ⁴ 

this is what the Lord says about him: ¹  “The virgin daughter Zion ²  despises you – she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. ³ 

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return; they will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, ¹  happiness and joy will overwhelm ²  them; grief and suffering will disappear. ³