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Judgments on Judah's Enemies

¹ Gather yourselves together, yes, ^(C1)join together,
You nation ^(C2)without ^(F1)shame,

² Before the decree ^(F1)takes effect—
The day passes ^(C1)like chaff—
Before the ^(C2)burning anger of the LORD comes upon you,
Before the ^(C3)day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.

^3 (C1)Seek the LORD,
All you ^(C2)humble of the ^(F1)earth
Who have practiced His ^(F2)ordinances;
^(C3)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will ^(C4)remain hidden
On the day of the LORD'S anger.

⁴ For ^(C1)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of ^(C1)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And ^(C1)Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵ Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the ^(F1)(C1)Cherethites!
The word of the LORD is ^(C2)against you,
^(C3)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will ^(C4)eliminate you
So that there will be ^(C5)no inhabitant.

⁶ So the seacoast will become ^(C1)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷ And the coast will be
For the ^(C1)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will ^(C2)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the LORD their God will ^(C3)care for them
And ^(C4)restore their fortunes.

⁸ "I have heard the ^(C1)taunting of Moab
And the ^(C2)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And ^(C3)boasted against their territory.

⁹ "Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of armies,
The God of Israel,
"^(C1)Moab will assuredly be like ^(C2)Sodom,
And the sons of ^(C3)Ammon like ^(C4)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will ^(C5)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them."

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

¹³ And He will ^(C1)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate ^(C2)Assyria,
And He will make ^(C3)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.

¹⁴ Flocks will lie down in her midst,
^(F1)All animals that range in herds;
Both the ^(F2)(C1)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in ^(F3)the tops of her pillars;
^(F4)Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.

¹⁵ This is the ^(C1)presumptuous city
That ^(C2)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
"^(C3)I am, and there is no one besides me."
How she has become a ^(C4)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
^(C5)Everyone who passes by her will ^(F1)hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.