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God’s Response and Promise

18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land
    and had pity on his people.(A)
19 In response to his people the Lord said:
“I am sending you
    grain, wine, and oil,
    and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
    a mockery among the nations.(B)

20 I will remove the northern army far from you
    and drive it into a parched and desolate land,
its front into the eastern sea
    and its rear into the western sea;
its stench and foul smell will rise up.”
    Surely he has done great things!(C)

21 Do not fear, O soil;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for the Lord has done great things!
22 Do not fear, you animals of the field,
    for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
    the fig tree and vine give their full yield.(D)

23 O children of Zion, be glad,
    and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain[a] for your vindication;
    he has poured down for you abundant rain,
    the early and the later rain, as before.(E)
24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
    the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 I will repay you for the years
    that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
    my great army that I sent against you.(F)

26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied
    and praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.(G)
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel
    and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.23 Meaning of Heb uncertain

The Lord’s Promise of Restoration

18 Then the Lord will pity his people
    and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19 The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
    enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
    among the surrounding nations.
20 I will drive away these armies from the north.
    I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
    and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.[a]
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”

Surely the Lord has done great things!
21     Don’t be afraid, O land.
Be glad now and rejoice,
    for the Lord has done great things.
22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
    for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
    fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
    Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
    Once more the autumn rains will come,
    as well as the rains of spring.
24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
    and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
    to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.[b]
    It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
    and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
    Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
    Never again will my people be disgraced.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:20 Hebrew into the eastern sea, . . . into the western sea.
  2. 2:25 The precise identification of the four kinds of locusts mentioned here is uncertain.