Study Desk

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads^(a) of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape.^(b)

Though they dig down to the depths below,^(c) from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above,^(d) from there I will bring them down.^(e)

Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,^(f) there I will hunt them down and seize them.^(g) Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,^(h) there I will command the serpent⁽ⁱ⁾ to bite them.^(j)

Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword^(k) to slay them. "I will keep my eye on them for harm^(l) and not for good.^(m)"⁽ⁿ⁾

The Lord, the Lord Almighty— he touches the earth and it melts,^(o) and all who live in it mourn; the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt;^(p)

he builds his lofty palace^[a](q) in the heavens and sets its foundation^[b] on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name.^(r)

"Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites^[c]?"^(s) declares the Lord . "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines^(t) from Caphtor^[d](u) and the Arameans from Kir?^(v)

"Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy^(w) it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob," declares the Lord .^(x)

"For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain^(y) is shaken in a sieve,^(z) and not a pebble will reach the ground.^(aa)

All the sinners among my people will die by the sword,^(ab) all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'^(ac)

"In that day "I will restore David's^(ad) fallen shelter^(ae)— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins^(af)— and will rebuild it as it used to be,^(ag)

so that they may possess the remnant of Edom^(ah) and all the nations that bear my name,^[e](ai)" declares the Lord , who will do these things.^(aj)

"The days are coming,"^(ak) declares the Lord , "when the reaper^(al) will be overtaken by the plowman^(am) and the planter by the one treading^(an) grapes. New wine^(ao) will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,^(ap)

and I will bring^(aq) my people Israel back from exile.^[f](ar) "They will rebuild the ruined cities^(as) and live in them. They will plant vineyards^(at) and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.^(au)

I will plant^(av) Israel in their own land,^(aw) never again to be uprooted^(ax) from the land I have given them,"^(ay) says the Lord your God.^(az)