Description of Israel’s fate

¹I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and the Lord said:

Strike the pillars until the foundations shake,

With the sword, I will kill the last of them;

²If they dig through into the underworld,[#9.2 Heb Sheol]

If they climb up to the heavens,

³If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,

If they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,

⁴If they are forced from their homes before their enemies,

I will fix my eyes on them

A divine confession

⁵The LORD , God of heavenly forces,

All of it rises up like the Nile

⁶It is the LORD who builds his upper rooms in the heavens

who summons the waters of the sea,

Divine address to the Israelites

⁷Aren’t you like the Cushites to me,

Haven’t I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,

⁸Look, the LORD God is eyeing the sinful kingdom,

However, I won’t destroy fully the house of Jacob,

Warning to the house of Israel

⁹Look, I am giving orders,

as one sifts dirt with a screen,

¹⁰All the sinners of my people will die by the sword,

“Evil won’t overtake or meet us.”

Divine promise of restoration

¹¹On that day I will raise up

and repair its broken places.

and I will rebuild it like a long time ago;

¹²so that they may possess what is left of Edom,

¹³The days are surely coming, says the LORD ,

The mountains will drip wine,

¹⁴I will improve the circumstances of my people Israel;

They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;

and they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

¹⁵I will plant them upon their land,

out of the land that I have given them,