Tell those who panic, ¹  “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ² 

Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment ¹  is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. ² 

He pursues them and passes by unharmed; ¹  he advances with great speed. ² 

Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. ¹ 

He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹  he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

With bow and arrow ¹  men will hunt ²  there, for the whole land will be covered ³  with thorns and briers.

In a year’s time ¹  you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape ²  harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

He will go back the way he came – he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.

they will say about me, “Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” ¹  All who are angry at him will cower before him. ² 

Before she goes into labor, she gives birth! Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

Your officials are rebels, ¹  they associate with ²  thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for ³  payoffs. ⁴  They do not take up the cause of the orphan, ⁵  or defend the rights of the widow. ⁶ 

The Lord comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴  You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵ 

So this sin will become your downfall. You will be like a high wall that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse; it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. ¹ 

Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ¹  his military power establishes his rule. ²  Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him. ³ 

In the west, people respect ¹  the Lord’s reputation; ²  in the east they recognize his splendor. ³  For he comes like a rushing ⁴  stream driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ⁵ 

The splendor of Lebanon will come to you, its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together, to beautify my palace; ¹  I will bestow honor on my throne room. ² 

Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; ¹  the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time ²  of sorrow will be over.

For look, the Lord comes with fire, his chariots come like a windstorm, ¹  to reveal his raging anger, his battle cry, and his flaming arrows. ² 

From one month ¹  to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people ²  will come to worship me,” ³  says the Lord.

So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. ¹  He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, ²  nor will he build siege works against it.