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18 Then Yahweh was jealous for his land,
    And had pity on his people.
19 Yahweh answered his people,
    “Behold,[a] I will send you grain, new wine, and oil,
    and you will be satisfied with them;
    and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
20 But I will remove the northern army far away from you,
    and will drive it into a barren and desolate land,
    its front into the eastern sea,
    and its back into the western sea;
    and its stench will come up,
    and its bad smell will rise.”
Surely he has done great things.
21 Land, don’t be afraid.
    Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things.
22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field;
    for the pastures of the wilderness spring up,
    for the tree bears its fruit.
    The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.

23 “Be glad then, you children of Zion,
    and rejoice in Yahweh, your God;
    for he gives you the early rain in just measure,
    and he causes the rain to come down for you,
    the early rain and the latter rain,
    as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of wheat,
    and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
    the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar,
    my great army, which I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied,
    and will praise the name of Yahweh, your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you;
    and my people will never again be disappointed.
27 You will know that I am among Israel,
    and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else;
    and my people will never again be disappointed.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:19 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

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.