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Judgments on Judah's Enemies

¹ Gather yourselves together in repentance, yes, ^(C1)gather in submission,
O ^(C2)nation without shame,

² Before the decree takes effect and the time for repentance is lost—
The day passes ^(C1)like the chaff whirled by the wind—
Before the ^(C2)burning and fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you,
Before the ^(C3)day of the wrath of the LORD comes upon you.

^3 (C1)Seek the LORD search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life,
All you ^(C2)humble of the land
Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments;
^(C3)Seek righteousness, seek humility regard them as vital.
Perhaps you will be ^(C4)hidden and pardoned and rescued
In the day of the LORD'S anger.

⁴ For this is the fate of the Philistines: ^(C1)Gaza will be abandoned
And Ashkelon a desolation;
The people of ^(C1)Ashdod will be driven out at noon in broad daylight
And ^(C1)Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed.

⁵ Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the ^(C1)Cherethites in Philistia!
The word of the LORD is ^(C2)against you,
O ^(C3)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
I will ^(C4)destroy you
So that ^(C5)no inhabitant will be left.

⁶ So the depopulated seacoast shall be ^(C1)pastures,
With deserted meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷ The ^(F1)seacoast will belong
To the ^(C1)remnant of the house of Judah;
They will ^(C2)pasture their flocks on it.
In the deserted houses of Ashkelon in Philistia they of Judah will lie down and rest in the evening,
For the LORD their God will ^(C3)care for them;
And ^(C4)restore their fortune permitting them to occupy the land. ^(VR1)

⁸ "I have heard the ^(C1)taunting of Moab
And the ^(C2)revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And ^(C3)become arrogant against their territory by violating Israel's boundary and trying to seize its land.

⁹ "Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of hosts,
The God of Israel,
"^(F1)(C1)Moab will in fact become like ^(C2)Sodom
And the ^(F2)sons of ^(C3)Ammon like ^(C4)Gomorrah,
A land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will ^(C5)plunder them
And what is left of My nation will inherit them as their own."

¹² "You also, O ^(C1)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword." ^(VR1)

¹³ And the LORD will ^(C1)stretch out His hand against the north
And destroy ^(C2)Assyria,
And He will make ^(C3)Nineveh a desolation a wasteland,
Parched as the desert. ^(VR1)

¹⁴ Flocks will lie down in her midst,
All the animals which range in herds;
Both the ^(C1)pelican and the short-eared owl
Will roost on the top of Nineveh's pillars.
Birds will sing in the window,
Desolation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar paneling.

¹⁵ This is the ^(C1)joyous city
Which ^(C2)dwells carelessly feeling so secure,
Who says in her heart,
"^(C3)I am, and there is no one besides me."
What a ^(C4)desolation she has become,
A lair for wild animals!
^(C5)Everyone who passes by her will hiss in scorn
And wave his hand in contempt. ^(VR1)