Chronological

⁷ Be silent before Adonai God.
For the day of Adonai is at hand!^[b]
Adonai has prepared a sacrifice,
    He has consecrated his guests.
⁸ On the day of Adonai’s sacrifice,
I will punish the princes,
the king’s sons
and all who dress in foreign attire.
⁹ In that day I will punish
all who skip over the threshold
while filling their master’s House
    with violence and deceit.
¹⁰ In that day—declares Adonai—
there will be the sound of screaming from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the second district
and a loud crash from the heights.
¹¹ Howl, inhabitants of Maktesh!^[c]
For all the people of Canaan^[d] are destroyed.
All who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish the men whose spirits have hardened,
who say in their hearts,
‘Adonai will do neither good nor evil.’
¹³ Their wealth will become plunder,
    their houses a ruin.
They will build houses
    but not live in them.
They will plant vineyards
    but not drink their wine.

2 Gather together! Gather together,
O shameless nation—
² before the decree is brought forth,
before the day passes away like chaff,
before Adonai’s burning anger comes upon you,
before the day of Adonai’s anger comes upon you!
³ Seek Adonai, all you humble of the land
who have executed His judgment.
Seek righteousness; seek meekness!^[e]
Perhaps you will be hidden
    on the day of Adonai’s wrath.
⁴ For Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon will be a wasteland.
Ashdod will be driven out at noon
and Ekron will be uprooted.
⁵ Oy to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
    the nation of Cherethites!
The word of Adonai is against you,
    Canaan, the land of the Philistines,
and I will destroy you
    until there is no inhabitant.
⁶ The seacoast will become pastures,
with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.
⁷ The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah,
    upon which they will graze.
    In the houses of Ashkelon
    they will lie down in the evening.
For Adonai their God will visit them
    and return them from captivity.
⁸ I have heard the taunts of Moab
and the jeers of the children of Ammon,
    who taunted My people
and expanded on their border.
⁹ Therefore, as I live,
    declares Adonai-Tzva’ot God of Israel,
    Moab will be like Sodom
    and Ammon like Gomorrah—
    a possession of weeds and a salt pit,
    a perpetual wasteland.
    The remainder of My people will plunder them.
    The remnant of My nation will dispossess them.
¹⁰ This is what they will get for their pride,
for they have taunted and expanded
against the people of Adonai-Tzva’ot.
¹¹ Adonai will be fearsome against them.
For all the gods of the earth
    He will make waste away.
To Him will bow, each from its place,
    the islands of the nations.
¹² You Ethiopians too
    will be slain by My sword.
¹³ He will stretch out his hand against the north
and devastate Assyria
and make Nineveh as a wasteland—
    dry as a desert.
¹⁴ Flocks will lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts—
both the little owl and the great owl
    will lodge in her pillars.
A voice will hoot in the window.
Ruin will be in the doorway,
for the cedar beams will be exposed.
¹⁵ This is the exultant city,
dwelling securely,
saying in her heart,
    ‘It’s me—no one else but me!’
    How did she become a ruin,
    an abode for wild beasts?
Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and shakes his fist.

3 Oy to the oppressive city—
    filthy and defiled!
² She did not obey;
she took no correction.
She did not trust in Adonai.
She did not draw near to her God.
³ Her princes within her are roaring lions.
Her judges are wolves of the night,
leaving nothing but bones for morning.
⁴ Her prophets are reckless,
treacherous men.
Her kohanim have profaned what is holy.
They do violence to Torah.
⁵ Adonai is righteous in her midst.
He will do no injustice.
Morning by morning He brings His justice to light.
He does not fail.
Yet the unjust knows no shame.
⁶ I have cut off nations.
Their towers have become desolate.
I have destroyed their streets.
    with no one passing by.
Their cities are laid waste,
    with no one—none living there.
⁷ I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
you will accept correction,
so her dwelling place would not be cut off—
all that I appointed against her.’
But they arose early
    and made all their deeds corrupt.
⁸ Therefore, wait for me, declares Adonai,
    for the day when I rise up for plunder:
    for My decision is to assemble nations,
    to gather kingdoms,^[f]
    to pour out My fury upon them—
        all My burning anger.
For in the fire of My wrath
    all the earth will be consumed.

⁹ For then I will restore to the people pure speech,
    so that all of them
    may call upon the Name of Adonai
    and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
    My worshipers, the daughter of My scattered ones
    will bring My offering.
¹¹ On that day you will not be ashamed
    because of all your deeds by which you rebelled against Me.
For then I will remove from your midst
    your proud, arrogant ones,
and you will never again be haughty
    on My holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave among you
    a people meek and humble.
They will take refuge in the Name of Adonai.
¹³ The remnant of Israel will do no injustice
nor will they tell lies,
nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths.^[g]
For they will graze and lie down
    and no one will make them afraid.
¹⁴ Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult wholeheartedly,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ Adonai has taken away your punishments.
He has turned back your adversary.
The King of Israel, Adonai, is in your midst.
Never again will you fear harm.
¹⁶ On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem,
‘Have no fear, O Zion,
    do not let your hands fall limp.
¹⁷ Adonai your God is in your midst—
    a mighty Savior!
He will delight over you with joy.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will dance for joy over you with singing^[h].’
¹⁸ “I will gather those among you
who grieve over your moadim—
it is a burden of shame on you.
¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will deal
    with all who oppress you.
I will save the lame and gather the outcast.
I will make them a praise and a name
    throughout all the land where they suffered shame.
²⁰ At that time I will bring you in.
At that time I will gather you.
For I will give you renown and glory
    among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your captives
    before your eyes,”
    declares Adonai.