² For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.

³ The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And ^[b]the spears are brandished.
⁴ The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.

⁵ He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.
⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
^7 [c]It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.

⁸ Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
^[d]“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.
^9 [e]Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of ^(A)gold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.
¹⁰ She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces ^[f]are drained of color.

¹¹ Where is the dwelling of the ^(B)lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
¹² The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
^[g]Killed for his lionesses,
^(C)Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with ^[h]flesh.

^(A)‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
¹³ There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
^(B)You have no healing medicines.
^14 (C)All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound ^(D)of an enemy,
With the chastisement ^(E)of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
^(F)Because your sins have increased.
¹⁵ Why ^(G)do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.

¹⁶ ‘Therefore all those who devour you ^(H)shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into ^(I)captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become ^(J)plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a ^(K)prey.
^17 (L)For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And ^(M)have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own ^[a]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
¹⁹ Then ^(N)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
^(O)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
²⁰ Their children also shall be ^(P)as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹ Their nobles shall be from among them,
^(Q)And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will ^(R)cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
²² ‘You shall be ^(S)My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”

²³ Behold, the ^(T)whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A ^[b]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
²⁴ The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

^(U)In the latter days you will consider it.