“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads^(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.^(B)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,^(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,^(D)
    from there I will bring them down.^(E)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,^(F)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.^(G)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,^(H)
    there I will command the serpent^(I) to bite them.^(J)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword^(K) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm^(L) and not for good.^(M)”^(N)

⁵ The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,^(O)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;^(P)
6 he builds his lofty palace^[a](Q) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation^[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.^(R)

⁷ “Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites^[c]?”^(S)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines^(T) from Caphtor^[d](U)
    and the Arameans from Kir?^(V)

⁸ “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy^(W) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.^(X)
9 “For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain^(Y) is shaken in a sieve,^(Z)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.^(AA)
10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,^(AB)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’^(AC)

“I will restore David’s^(AD) fallen shelter^(AE)—
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins^(AF)—
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,^(AG)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom^(AH)
    and all the nations that bear my name,^[e](AI)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.^(AJ)

“when the reaper^(AL) will be overtaken by the plowman^(AM)
    and the planter by the one treading^(AN) grapes.
New wine^(AO) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,^(AP)
14     and I will bring^(AQ) my people Israel back from exile.^[f](AR)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities^(AS) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards^(AT) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.^(AU)
15 I will plant^(AV) Israel in their own land,^(AW)
    never again to be uprooted^(AX)
    from the land I have given them,”^(AY)

says the Lord your God.^(AZ)

¹² The wicked plot^(A) against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth^(B) at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.^(C)

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword^(D)
    and bend the bow^(E)
to bring down the poor and needy,^(F)
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,^(G)
    and their bows will be broken.^(H)

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth^(I) of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,^(J)
    but the Lord upholds^(K) the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,^(L)
    and their inheritance will endure forever.^(M)
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:^(N)
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.^(O)

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;^(P)
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses^(Q) will be destroyed.^(R)

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps^(S)
    of the one who delights^(T) in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,^(U)
    for the Lord upholds^(V) him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken^(W)
    or their children begging^(X) bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;^(Y)
    their children will be a blessing.^[a](Z)