Beginning
Do not trust Egypt to help
31 It will be very bad for those people who expect that Egypt will help them. They think that Egypt's many horses and chariots will keep them safe. They trust the power of Egypt's strong soldiers who ride on horses. But those people do not trust the Holy God of Israel. They do not ask the Lord to help them.
2 But the Lord is very wise. He will bring trouble to people, as he has promised. He will not change his mind. He will punish wicked people, as well as those who help them to do evil things.
3 The men in Egypt are human. They are not God. Their horses are weak animals, not powerful spirits. When the Lord lifts up his hand to punish them, the strong helpers will not be able to stand. The people who expected them to help will fall down too. They will all come to an end together.
The Lord will keep his people safe
4 This is what the Lord said to me:
‘The Lord Almighty will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. He will come like a strong young lion that roars when it has caught a lamb to eat. Even if a whole crowd of shepherds come to chase it away, their shouts will not make the lion afraid.[a] 5 The Lord Almighty will make Jerusalem safe. He will protect it like a bird that protects its nest. He will pass over the city and he will rescue it.[b]
6 Israelite people, you have turned completely against the Lord. Now turn back to him! 7 The time will come when everyone must throw away their gold and silver idols. It was a sin for you to make them for yourselves.
8 The Assyrian soldiers will die in battle. But humans did not make the sword that will kill them. It is God's sword that will destroy them. The Assyrians will run away from that sword. But their strong young men will have to do hard work as slaves. 9 Their strongest soldiers will run away because they are afraid. The officers of their army will be afraid when they see the Lord's battle flag.’
That is what the Lord says. His fire is in Zion. Yes, his hot oven is in Jerusalem.
An honest king
32 Look! A king is coming who will rule in a right and fair way.
Honest leaders will rule under his authority.
2 Each leader will be like a safe place to hide
from strong winds and storms.
He will be like streams of water in a desert.
And he will be like the shadow of a great rock in a hot, dry land.
3 At that time, everyone who has eyes will be able to see clearly.
Everyone who has ears will be able to listen well.
4 People who do things too quickly will stop and think first.
Those who cannot speak well will be able to talk clearly.
5 Nobody will praise a stupid person.
Nobody will respect people who cheat others.
6 Stupid people say silly things.
They think of evil things that they can do.
They live in a way that does not respect God.
The things that they teach about the Lord are false.
They keep food away from hungry people.
They give no drink to thirsty people.
7 Cruel people do evil things to deceive others.
They think of ways that they can cheat their friends.
They tell lies to give trouble to poor people.
So poor people do not receive the justice that they deserve.
8 But good people think of ways that they can be kind to others.
They do the good things that they have decided to do.
A message about Jerusalem's women[c]
9 You women, listen carefully to what I say to you!
You think that you have no problems.
You feel very safe.
But listen to me!
10 Now, you think that you are safe,
but in one year's time, you will shake with fear.
There will be no grapes at harvest time.
You will pick no fruit from your trees.
11 You think that you have no problems,
but you should be afraid.
Yes, shake with fear!
Take off all your beautiful clothes.
Tie rough cloth round your legs instead.
12 Weep and hit your breasts,
because your good fields have no crops,
and your vines have no grapes.
13 Weep because of what has happened to my people's land.
Only thorn bushes and weeds grow there.
Weep because there are no longer any happy homes.
There are no more parties in the city.
14 Nobody will remain in the king's great palace.
The city that is now full of people will be empty.
The city's hill and its strong buildings
will become heaps of stones for ever.
Wild donkeys will play in those places,
and sheep will find grass to eat.
15 It will be like that until God pours a new spirit on us from heaven.
Then, deserts will become fields of fruit trees.
And fields of fruit trees will seem like forests.
16 Everywhere, people will be honest and fair,
in the deserts as well as in the fields.
17 People will do things that are right,
so there will be peace.
People will always be safe.
18 My people will live safely and quietly in their homes.
They will not be afraid of trouble.
19 A storm of hail may destroy the forest.
The buildings in the city may all fall down too.
20 But still the Lord will bless you.
You will plant your seeds beside streams of water.
You will send your cows and donkeys into the fields,
and they will have plenty of grass to eat.
Trouble and hope
33 It will be very bad for you who destroy other nations.
No other nation has destroyed you yet.
It will be very bad for you who deceive other nations.
No other nation has deceived you yet.
But in the end, when you stop destroying,
others will destroy you.
When you stop deceiving,
other nations will deceive you.[d]
2 Lord, please be kind to us.
We wait for you to help us.
Make us strong every day.
Rescue us when trouble happens.
3 When they hear the noise of battle,
the nations run away.
When you go to war,
they run in every direction!
4 You nations, after the battle your valuable things will quickly disappear!
It will seem like locusts have eaten them all.
Yes, we will take it all,
like a hungry crowd of locusts.
5 The Lord is greater than all others.
He lives high above the earth.
He will cause Zion's people to do what is right and fair.
6 Whatever happens, he will cause you to be strong.
He will always keep you safe,
and he will make you wise,
so that you understand things.
Respect the Lord with fear,
and he will do all this for you.
7 Look! Our brave soldiers are calling out in the streets.
The people that we sent to make peace with our enemies are weeping.
8 The big roads are empty.
Nobody is travelling anywhere.
People spoil agreements that they have made.
They do not believe what people promise.
They do not respect anyone.
9 The land itself is dry and useless.
Lebanon's forest is dying.
Sharon has become like a desert.
The trees in Bashan and Carmel have no leaves.[e]
10 The Lord says, ‘Now I will stand up to do something.
I will show that I am great and powerful.
11 My enemies, everything that you want to do will be useless.
Your thoughts are like dry grass and straw.
Your own breath will destroy you,
like a fire that burns dry grass.
12 Your people will be like wood for the fire,
and only ashes will remain.
They will burn as easily as thorn bushes
that people cut down and throw on the fire.
13 You people who live far away,
listen to what I have done!
You people who are near,
understand that I am very strong.’
14 The sinners who live in Zion are afraid.
The people who do not respect God shake with fear.
They ask, ‘Who among us can stay alive?
This is a fire that burns everything.
Nobody can stop it from burning!’
15 But some people can still live!
Those who are honest in what they do
and fair in what they say.
Those who refuse to cheat other people
so that they can become rich.
Those who refuse to accept bribes.
Those who will not listen to murderers,
and who will not think about evil things.
16 People who are like that will live in a safe place.
Danger will not reach them among the high rocks.
They will always have food to eat,
and plenty of water to drink.
17 With your own eyes, you will see the king.
He will be great and beautiful.
You will see the land that he rules.
It will reach far and wide.
18 Then you will think about the time when you were afraid.
You will say, ‘Where is the enemy's important officer?
Where is the officer that we paid taxes to?
Where is the officer who counted our strong buildings?
They are no longer here to give us trouble!’
19 You will never see those cruel people again.
You could not understand their language.
They laughed at you with strange words.
20 Now, look at Zion, the city where we have our festivals.
Yes, you will see Jerusalem.
It will be a place that is quiet and safe.
It will be like a tent that people will never move.
They will never pull up its pegs.
They will never break its ropes.
21 The Lord will rule there as our powerful God.
Rivers and wide streams will run through it.
Our enemies will not be able to bring their ships there to attack us.
22 The Lord will keep us safe.
He is our judge, our ruler and our king.
23 At this time, your ship is not ready to go anywhere.
You have not tied the ropes.
There is nowhere to hang the sails.
But then, you will take many valuable things from your enemies.
You will share them after the battle.
Even people who cannot walk well
will carry away what they want!
24 Nobody who lives in Zion will say, ‘I am ill.’
And God will forgive their sins.
God will punish his enemies
34 Come near to me, people of all nations.
Listen carefully, everyone!
All the earth, and everything that is in it,
listen to me!
Yes, the whole world, and all who live in it,
listen carefully!
2 The Lord is angry against all the nations
and all their armies.
He has decided to destroy them,
and that is what he will do.
3 Nobody will bury the dead bodies
of those who have died in battle.
The smell of their dead bodies will be everywhere.
Their blood will pour down the mountains.
4 The stars in the sky will slowly disappear.
The sky will close up like a book.
All the stars will fall,
like dry leaves that fall from a vine.
They will drop like figs from a fig tree,
when they become dry.
5 The Lord says,
‘My sword has finished its work in the skies.
Now it will come to punish Edom.
Those are the people that I have decided to destroy.’
6 The Lord's sword has blood all over it!
It is the blood of young sheep and goats.
It has the fat of meat on it.
It is the fat from sheep's kidneys.
Yes! The Lord is killing animals for a sacrifice in Bozrah.[f]
He will kill many people in Edom.
7 He will kill their wild oxen
and their young bulls.[g]
Blood will pour over Edom's land.
Fat will feed their soil.
8 The Lord has chosen a day for punishment.
It will be a time when he punishes Zion's enemies,
because they have attacked his people.
9 The water in Edom's streams will become tar.
Its soil will become sulphur.
Its whole land will become tar that is burning.
10 That fire will burn through the days and the nights.
Its smoke will always continue to rise up.
The land will be empty from one century to the next.
Nobody will ever travel through it again.
11 Owls, hawks and hedgehogs will live there,[h]
as well as all kinds of wild animals and wild birds.
The Lord will carefully measure the whole land,
so that he can destroy it.
It will become like an empty desert.
12 There will be no kingdom left for anyone to rule.
Edom's leaders and officers will all disappear.
13 Thorn bushes will grow over its palaces.
Bushes and weeds will grow over its strong cities.
Jackals and ostriches will make their homes in the land.
14 Wild animals and hyenas will meet there.
Wild goats will call out to each other.
The night monster will come there,
and she will find a place to stay.
15 Owls will build their nests there.
They will take care of their eggs
until the baby birds come out.
They will keep their babies safe under their wings.
Hawks will meet there too.
They will be together in pairs, male and female.
16 Read the Lord's book very carefully:
‘All these animals and birds will be there.
They will all be together in pairs.
The Lord himself has commanded what must happen.
His Spirit brings them all together.’
17 The Lord has decided where each one will live.
He measures a place for every kind of animal and bird.
The land will always belong to them to live in.
It will be their home from one century to the next.
A message of hope
35 The desert and the dry land will be happy!
The wilderness will be happy too,
and beautiful flowers will grow there.
2 Yes, there will be lots of flowers!
The land will sing and shout with joy!
The desert will be as beautiful as Lebanon.
It will seem like lovely places in Carmel and in Sharon.
In those places, people will see the Lord's glory.
They will see that our God is very great.
3 If your hands feel weak,
now be strong!
If your knees are shaking,
now be brave!
4 Say this to people who are afraid:
‘Be strong! Do not be afraid!
Your God is coming now.
He is coming to punish his enemies
for the bad things that they have done.
He is coming to rescue you!’
5 At that time, he will open the eyes of blind people.
Deaf people will hear again.
6 People with weak legs will jump like deer.
People who cannot speak now will shout with joy.
Water will pour from springs in the desert.
Streams of water will run in the wilderness.
7 The hot earth will become a pool of water.
The dry ground will have springs of water.
In the places where jackals made their homes,
there will now be grasses and reeds.
8 There will be a great road there.
It will be called ‘The Holy Way’.
People who are unclean will not travel on it.
It will be for those people who know God's way.
Evil fools will not walk on it.
9 No lions will be there.
No dangerous wild animals will come onto it.
They will not come near to it.
It is the people that the Lord has rescued
who will travel on that road.
10 He has paid the price to rescue them,
and they will return home along it.
They will be happy and they will sing,
as they go into Zion city.
They will be very happy for ever.
They will never again be sad or upset.
All the time they will be completely happy.
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