Chapter 9

God’s Judgment Unavoidable

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the aaltar, and He said,

“Smite the capitals so that the bthresholds will shake,

And cbreak them on the heads of them all!

Then I will dslay the rest of them with the sword;

They will enot have a fugitive who will flee,

Or a refugee who will escape.

2 “Though they dig into aSheol,

From there will My hand take them;

And though they bascend to heaven,

From there will I bring them down.

3 “Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,

I will asearch them out and take them from there;

And though they bconceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea,

From there I will command the cserpent and it will bite them.

4 “And though they go into acaptivity before their enemies,

From there I will command the sword that it slay them,

And I will bset My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

5 The Lord 1God of hosts,

The One who atouches the land so that it melts,

And ball those who dwell in it mourn,

And all of it rises up like the Nile

And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

6 The One who builds His 1aupper chambers in the heavens

And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,

He who bcalls for the waters of the sea

And cpours them out on the face of the earth,

dThe Lord is His name.

7 “Are you not as the sons of aEthiopia to Me,

O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.

“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,

And the bPhilistines from Caphtor and the cArameans from dKir?

8 “Behold, the aeyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,

And I will bdestroy it from the face of the earth;

Nevertheless, I will cnot totally destroy the house of Jacob,”

Declares the Lord.

9 “For behold, I am commanding,

And I will ashake the house of Israel among all nations

As grain is shaken in a sieve,

But not a 1kernel will fall to the ground.

10 “All the asinners of My people will die by the sword,

Those who say, ‘bThe calamity will not overtake or confront us.’

The Restoration of Israel

11 “In that day I will araise up the fallen 1bbooth of David,

And wall up its cbreaches;

I will also raise up its ruins

And rebuild it as in the ddays of old;

12 aThat they may possess the remnant of bEdom

And all the 1nations who are ccalled by My name,”

Declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“When the aplowman will overtake the reaper

And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;

When the bmountains will drip sweet cwine

And all the hills will be dissolved.

14 “Also I will arestore the 1captivity of My people Israel,

And they will brebuild the ruined cities and live in them;

They will also cplant vineyards and drink their wine,

And make gardens and eat their fruit.

15 “I will also plant them on their land,

And athey will not again be rooted out from their land

Which I have given them,”

Says the Lord your God.