then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory and brilliance will be a canopy [a defense, a covering of His divine love and protection].

“I will turn it into a wasteland; It will not be pruned or cultivated, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”

And in that day they will roar against them (Judah) like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, in fact, there is darkness and distress; Even the light will be darkened by its clouds.

‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

For this is what the Lord has said to me, “I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place, Like shimmering heat above the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

Message to Egypt

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

Like heat in a dry land, You will subdue the noise of foreigners [rejoicing over their enemies]; Like heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the tyrants is silenced.

And the Lord will make His majestic voice heard, And show the descending of His arm [striking] in [His] fierce anger, And in the flame of a devouring fire, In the crashing sound of heavy rain, cloudburst, and hailstones.

“I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

God’s Supreme Power

“Rain down, O heavens, from above, Let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God]; Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it; I, the Lord, have created it.

“I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”

“Who are these who fly like a cloud And like doves to their windows?