耶和華的日子

14 看啊,耶和華的日子快到了,那時你那裡的財物必被搶掠、瓜分。 因為我必招聚萬國去攻打耶路撒冷。那時,城必失守,房屋必被洗劫,婦女必被玷污。半城的人必被擄去,剩下的人必留在城中,不會被剷除。 那時,耶和華必出來與列國爭戰,像從前爭戰的日子一樣。 到那天,祂的腳必踏在耶路撒冷東面的橄欖山上,這山必從東至西分成兩半,一半向北移,一半向南移,中間形成極大的山谷。 你們要從我的這山谷逃跑,因為山谷必延伸到亞薩。你們必像猶大王烏西雅年間的人躲避大地震一樣逃跑。我的上帝耶和華必帶著所有的聖者降臨。 到那天,將沒有光、嚴寒和冰霜。 那將是奇特的日子,沒有晝夜之分,晚上仍然有光,只有上帝知道那日何時來臨。

到那天,必有活水從耶路撒冷湧出,一半流向死海,一半流向地中海,冬夏不變。 耶和華必做普世的王。到那天,必唯祂獨尊,唯祂的名獨尊。 10 從迦巴直到耶路撒冷南邊的臨門,整個地區都要變為平原。從便雅憫門到舊門,再到角門,從哈楠業樓到王的榨酒池——耶路撒冷必仍然矗立在原處。 11 城內必有人居住,不再遭毀滅的咒詛。耶路撒冷必安享太平。

12 耶和華必降瘟疫給攻打耶路撒冷的列邦,使他們活著的時候皮肉已經腐爛,眼睛在眼眶中腐爛,舌頭在口中腐爛。 13 到那天,耶和華必使他們慌亂不堪,彼此揪住,互相毆打。 14 猶大也必在耶路撒冷爭戰,四圍列國的財物——大量的金銀和衣服必被收聚起來。 15 同樣的瘟疫也必降在馬匹、騾子、駱駝、驢和營中的其他牲畜身上。

16 前來攻打耶路撒冷的列國中的倖存者,必每年上來敬拜大君王——萬軍之耶和華,並且守住棚節。 17 地上萬族中若有人不上耶路撒冷敬拜大君王——萬軍之耶和華,他們必沒有雨水。 18 埃及人若不上來敬拜,也必沒有雨水,耶和華必使他們和不上來守住棚節的列國一樣遭受瘟疫。 19 這將是埃及和不上來守住棚節的列國所得的懲罰。 20 到那天,馬鈴上也必刻上「獻給耶和華」的字樣。耶和華殿內的鍋必像祭壇前的碗一樣聖潔。 21 耶路撒冷和猶大的鍋都是萬軍之耶和華的聖物,來獻祭的人都可以用這些鍋煮祭肉。到那天,萬軍之耶和華的殿中必再也沒有商人。

14 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

14 Behold, the Day of the LORD comes! And your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you.

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. And the city shall be taken, and the houses spoiled, and the women defiled. And half of the city shall go into captivity. And the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”

Then the LORD shall go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.

And His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives on that day (which is before Jerusalem on the eastern side). And the Mount of Olives shall be split in its midst, toward the East and toward the West. And there shall be a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move away toward the North, and half of the mountain toward the South.

And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains. For the valley of the mountains shall reach Azal. Indeed, you shall flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with you.

And at that time, shall there be no clear light, only dark.

And there shall be a day (it is known to the LORD) that is neither day nor night, but at evening time it shall be light.

And on that day, waters of life shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the outermost sea. And they shall be both in summer and winter.

And the LORD shall be King over all the Earth. At that time shall there be one LORD, and His Name shall be One.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain, from Geba to Rimmon toward the South of Jerusalem. And it shall be lifted up and inhabited in its place, from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first gate to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananiel to the king’s winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it. And there shall be no more destruction. But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And these shall be the plagues with which the LORD will strike all people who have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve away, though they stand upon their feet. And their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets. And their tongue shall dissolve in their mouth.

13 But on that day, a great tumult of the LORD shall be among them. And everyone shall take the hand of his neighbor. And his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

14 And Judah shall also fight against Jerusalem. And the arm of all the heathen shall be gathered all around, with gold and silver and with great abundance of apparel.

15 Yet, this shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel and of the donkey, and of all the beasts that are in these tents at this plague.

16 But it shall come to pass at that time that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

17 And whoever will not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, from all the families of the Earth, upon them shall come no rain.

18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up, and does not come, it shall not rain upon them. These shall be the plagues with which the LORD will strike all the heathen who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

20 At that time, there shall be written upon the bridles of the horses, “The holiness to the LORD.” And the pots in the LORD’s House shall be like the bowls before the Altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of Hosts. And all those who sacrifice shall come and take from them and boil in them. And from that time, there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the House of the LORD of Hosts.

War and Victory

14 The Lord will have his day. And when it comes, everything that was ever taken from Jerusalem will be returned and divided among its people. But first, he will bring many nations to attack Jerusalem—homes will be robbed, women raped, and half of the population dragged off, though the others will be allowed to remain.

The Lord will attack those nations like a warrior fighting in battle. He will take his stand on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem, and the mountain will split in half, forming a wide valley that runs from east to west. Then you people will escape from the Lord's mountain, through this valley, which reaches to Azal.[a] You will run in all directions, just as everyone did when the earthquake struck[b] in the time of King Uzziah of Judah. Afterwards, the Lord my God will appear with his holy angels.

It will be a bright day that won't turn cloudy or cold.[c] And the Lord has decided when it will happen—this time of unending day.

(A) In both summer and winter, life-giving streams will flow from Jerusalem, half of them to the Dead Sea in the east and half to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Then there will be only one Lord who rules as King and whose name is worshiped everywhere on earth.

10-11 (B) From Geba down to Rimmon[d] south of Jerusalem, the entire country will be turned into flatlands, with Jerusalem still towering above. Then the city will be full of people, from Benjamin Gate, Old Gate Place, and Hananel Tower in the northeast part of the city over to Corner Gate in the northwest and down to King's Wine Press in the south. Jerusalem will always be secure and will never again be destroyed.

12 Here is what the Lord will do to those who attack Jerusalem: While they are standing there, he will make their flesh rot and their eyes fall from their sockets and their tongues drop out. 13 The Lord will make them go into a frenzy and start attacking each other, 14-15 until even the people of Judah turn against those in Jerusalem.[e] This same terrible disaster will also strike every animal nearby, including horses, mules, camels, and donkeys. Finally, everything of value in the surrounding nations will be collected and brought to Jerusalem—gold, silver, and piles of clothing.

16 (C) Afterwards, the survivors from those nations that attacked Jerusalem will go there each year to worship the King, the Lord All-Powerful, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 17 No rain will fall on the land of anyone in any country who refuses to go to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord All-Powerful. 18-19 This horrible disaster will strike the Egyptians and everyone else who refuses to go there for the celebration.

20-21 At that time the words “Dedicated to the Lord” will be engraved on the bells worn by horses. In fact, every ordinary cooking pot in Jerusalem will be just as sacred to the Lord All-Powerful as the bowls used at the altar. Any one of them will be acceptable for boiling the meat of sacrificed animals, and there will no longer be a need to sell special pots and bowls.[f]

Footnotes

  1. 14.5 to Azal: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. The location of Azal is unknown.
  2. 14.5 earthquake struck: See Amos 1.1.
  3. 14.6 a bright … cold: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 14.10 From Geba down to Rimmon: Approximately the northern and southern borders of Judah before the exile (see 2 Kings 23.8); Geba is about 16 kilometers north of Jerusalem, and Rimmon is about 16 kilometers north of Beersheba.
  5. 14.13-15 each other … Jerusalem: Or “each other. 14-15 But the people of Judah will fight on the side of Jerusalem.”
  6. 14.20,21 special pots and bowls: Since all pots and bowls will be considered acceptable for use in the temple, there will be no more need for merchants to sell special ones to those people who come to offer sacrifices.