Beginning
The Captivity of Ephraim
28 How terrible it will be for that arrogant garland—
the drunks of Ephraim!
How terrible it will be for that fading flower of his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,[a]
of people overcome with wine!
2 Look! The Lord[b] has one who is mighty and strong,
like a hailstorm and destructive tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing water—
and[c] he will give rest to the land.
3 With hands[d] and feet, that proud garland[e]—
those drunks of Ephraim—will be trampled.
4 And that fading flower, his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,
will be like an early fig before summer—
whenever someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it’s in his hand.
5 At that time,[f] the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will become a glorious crown,
a beautiful diadem for the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,
a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 These people also[g] stagger from wine
and reel from strong drink.
Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink;
they’re drunk from[h] wine;
they reel from strong drink,
waver when seeing visions,
and stumble when rendering decisions.
8 For all the tables are covered in vomit and filth,
with no clean[i] space left.
Misuse of God’s Word
9 To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
To children just weaned from milk?
To those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is: “Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
Line upon line, line upon line,
a little here, a little there.”
11 Very well, then, through the mouths of foreigners[j]
and foreign languages
the Lord will speak to this people
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place,
so give rest to the weary”’
and,
“This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So, then, the message from the Lord to them will become:
“Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
line upon line,
line upon line,
a little here,
a little there,”
so that they will go,
but fall backward,
and be injured, snared, and captured.
God’s Precious Cornerstone
14 “Therefore hear[k] the message from the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.
15 Because you said:
‘We have entered into a covenant with death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol,[l]
so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice,[m]
it cannot reach us,
since we have made lies our refuge
and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood,’
16 therefore this is what the Lord God[n] says:
“Look! I am laying[o] a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure[p] foundation:
Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
and floods[q] will overflow your hiding place.
18 “Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol[r] will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be trampled by it.
19 As often as it sweeps through,
it will carry you away,
for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day;
but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night,[s]
20 because the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its blankets too narrow to wrap around oneself!
God is on Mount Perazim
21 For the Lord will stand upon[t] Mount Perazim,[u]
he will rouse himself in[v] the Valley of Gibeon;
to carry out his work—
his strange deed,
and to perform his task—
his alien task!
22 But as for you,[w] don’t start mocking,
or your chains will become tighter;
for I have heard from the Lord[x] of the Heavenly Armies about destruction,
and it is decreed against the whole land.
The God who Plows and Harvests
23 “Pay attention!
Listen to what I have to say;
Pay attention,
and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
he scatters caraway[y] and sows cumin, doesn’t he?
He plants wheat in rows,
barley in its designated place,
and feed for livestock[z] around its borders,[aa] doesn’t he?
26 His God instructs him regarding the correct way,
directing him how to plant.[ab]
27 For caraway is not threshed with a sharp sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin.
Instead, caraway is winnowed with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 It[ac] must be ground;[ad]
one cannot keep threshing it forever.
Even if he drives his cart[ae] and horses over it,
he cannot crush it.
29 This insight also comes from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who is distinguished[af] in practical advice
and[ag] magnificent in sound wisdom.”
Judgment is Coming to Jerusalem
29 “How terrible it will be for you, Aruel, Aruel,[ah]
the city where David encamped!
Year after year,
let your festivals run their cycle.
2 Then I’ll besiege Aruel,[ai]
and there will be sorrow and mourning;
she will become to me like an altar fireplace.[aj]
3 Then I’ll encamp against you like David,[ak]
and I’ll lay siege to you with towers,
raise siege works against you,
4 and you will be brought down.
You will speak from the ground,
and your speech will mumble from the dust.
Your voice will come ghostlike from the ground,
and your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 “But the hordes of your enemies[al]
will become like fine dust,
and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff.
Then suddenly, in an instant,
6 you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—
with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise,
with a windstorm, a tempest,
and flames from a devouring fire.
7 Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel,[am]
all that attack her and her fortification[an] and besiege her,
will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—
8 as when a hungry man dreams—
he eats, but wakes up still hungry;
or when a thirsty man dreams—
he drinks, but wakes up faint,
with his thirst unquenched.
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
Blind to God’s Words
9 “Act stupid!
Be astonished!
Act blind,
and be blind!
Be drunk,[ao] but not from[ap] wine;
stagger around,[aq] but not from strong drink.
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep—
he has closed your eyes, you prophets,
he has covered your heads, you seers!”
11 “And this entire vision has become for you like the words of a sealed book. When people give it to someone who can read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers,[ar] ‘I cannot, because it is sealed.’ 12 Or when they give the book[as] to someone who cannot read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers,[at] ‘I don’t know how to read.’”
A Rebuke of Hypocritical Worship
13 Then the Lord said:
“Because these people draw near with their mouths
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me,
worship of me[au] has become
merely like[av] rules taught by human beings.
14 Therefore, watch out!
“As for me,[aw] I will once again
do amazing things with this people,
wonder upon wonder.
The wisdom of their wise men will perish,
and the insights[ax] of their discerning men will stay hidden.”
A Rebuke to the Deceptive
15 “How terrible it will be for you who go to great depths
to hide your plans from the Lord,
you whose deeds have been[ay] done[az] in the dark,
and who say, ‘Who can see us?
Who has recognized[ba] us?’
16 He has turned the tables on you[bb]—
as if the potter were thought to be like heat.[bc]
Can what is made say of the one who made it,
‘He did not make me?’
Or can what is formed say of the ones[bd] who formed it,
‘He has no skill?’
17 “In a very little while,
will not Lebanon be turned into a garden of fruit,[be]
and the garden of fruit[bf] seem like a forest?
18 On that day the deaf will hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind will see.
19 The humble will again experience joy in the Lord,
and the poorest people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will vanish,
and mockers will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down—
21 those who make a person appear to be the offender in a lawsuit,
who set a trap for someone
who is making his defense in court,[bg]
and push aside the innocent
with specious arguments.
22 “Therefore, this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
‘No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
no longer will his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees in his midst his children,
the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Moreover, those who go astray in spirit will gain[bh] understanding,
and those who complain will accept instruction.’”
Foolish Trust in Egypt
30 “Oh, you stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out plans—
but they are not mine,
and who make alliances—
but not by my Spirit,
piling sin upon sin.
2 They set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking my advice;
taking refuge in Pharaoh’s protection,
and seeking shelter in Egypt’s shadow.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,
and sheltering in Egypt’s shadow your longing.[bi]
4 And it will turn out that[bj] his officials are at Zoan,
and his envoys will reach Hanes.
5 There is only loathsome destruction[bk]
through a people that cannot benefit them,
who bring neither help nor profit,
but only shame and disgrace.”
The Animals of the Negev
6 An oracle about the animals of the Negev:[bl]
“Through a land of trouble, dryness,[bm] and distress,
of lionesses and roaring lions,
where there is no water,[bn]
a land of vipers and darting snakes,
he carries[bo] their riches on donkeys’ backs,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot benefit them,
7 to Egypt, which gives help that is worthless and useless.
Therefore I call her,
‘Rahab,[bp] who just sits still.’”
The Illusions of False Prophecy
8 “Go now, and write it down[bq] on a tablet in their presence,
inscribing it in a book,
so that for times to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
children unwilling to hear
the Lord’s instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
‘Don’t see visions,’
and to the prophets,
‘Don’t give us visions of what is right!
Instead, tell us welcome things, prophesy illusions,
11 get out of the way,
turn aside from the path,
and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.”[br]
Rejecting God’s Message
12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you reject this message,
and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it,[bs]
and since you rely on it,
13 therefore, for you this sin will become
like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse,
bulging out,
and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant.
14 Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken,
shattered so ruthlessly[bt]
that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found
for taking fire from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
“In repentance and rest you will be saved;
in staying calm and trusting will be your strength.
But you refused.
16 Instead, you said,
‘No! We’ll escape on horses!’
Therefore, you’ll flee away.
And you said,
‘We’ll ride off on swift steeds!’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift.
17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one;
and run away, pursued by[bw] five,
until you are left
like a flagpole on a mountaintop,[bx]
like a banner on a hill.”
Restoration is Promised to Israel
18 “Nevertheless, the Lord will wait
so he can be gracious to you;
and thus he will rise up to show you mercy.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
How blessed are all those who wait for him.”
19 Indeed, you people who live in Zion and in Jerusalem,[by] you[bz] will weep no more. How gracious the Lord[ca] will be to you at the sound of your cry! As soon as he hears it, he will answer you. 20 And although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water[cb] of affliction, your teachers won’t hide themselves[cc] anymore, but your own eyes will see your teachers. 21 And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your carved idols that are overlaid with silver and your images plated with gold. You’ll throw them away like disgusting objects[cd] and say to them, “Away with you!”
23 He will also provide rain for your seed that you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the ground will be[ce] rich and abundant. At that time,[cf] your cattle will graze in broad meadows, 24 and oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned[cg] fodder that workers will winnow with shovels and forks. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks and canals[ch] running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the sun’s light will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days,[ci] when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
and it rises right up to the neck,
to shake[cj] the nations in the sieve of destruction,
and to place in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray.
29 You will have songs as on nights when people celebrate a holy festival,[ck] and gladness of heart, as when they set out with flutes to go to the Lord’s mountain, to the Rock of Israel.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
30 And the Lord will make heard—yes, he will make heard[cl]—his majestic voice, and make his arm[cm] seen descending in raging anger and in a flame of consuming fire, with a cloudburst, thunderstorm and hailstones. 31 Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the Lord’s voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. 32 And every stroke of his punishing rod[cn] that the Lord brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her[co] in battle with a brandished arm.
33 For the Fire Pit[cp] has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready.[cq] And[cr] its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the Lord will set it ablaze.
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