Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar
1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, c and he said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars d
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. e
None of those who flee will get away; f
none of the fugitives will escape.
2 If they dig down to Sheol, g
from there my hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven, h
from there I will bring them down.
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down i
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from my sight on the sea floor, j
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them. k
by their enemies into captivity, l
from there I will command
the sword to kill them. m
I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good. n
5 The Lord, the GOD of Armies—
he touches the earth; o
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt. p
6 He builds his upper chambers
in the heavens q
and lays the foundation of his vault
on the earth. r
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out over the surface of the earth. s
The LORD is his name. t
Announcement of Judgment
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me? u
This is the LORD’S declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor, N,v
and the Arameans from Kir? w
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord GOD
are on the sinful kingdom, x
and I will obliterate it
from the face of the earth. y
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob z—
this is the LORD’S declaration—
9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel a
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people b
who say: “Disaster will never overtake O
or confront us,” c
will die by the sword.
Announcement of Restoration
11 In that day
I will restore the fallen shelter d of David: e
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins, f
and rebuild it as in the days of old, g
the remnant of Edom h
and all the nations
this is the declaration of the LORD; he will do this.
13 Look, the days are coming—
this is the LORD’S declaration—
when the plowman will overtake the reaper j
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it. k
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel. Q,l
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, m
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce. n
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them. o
The LORD your God has spoken.