“Thus says the LORD,
‘We have heard a terrified voice
Of panic and dread, and there is no peace.
‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
It is the time of Jacob’s [unequaled] trouble,
But he will be saved from it.
‘It shall come about on that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break the yoke off your neck and I will tear off your bonds and force apart your shackles; and strangers will no longer make slaves of the people [of Israel].
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ says the LORD,
‘Nor be dismayed or downcast, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from a distant land [of exile]
And your descendants from the land of their captivity.
Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,
And no one will make him afraid.
‘For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
But I will not destroy you completely.
But I will judge and discipline you fairly
And will by no means regard you as guiltless and leave you unpunished.’
‘There is no one to plead your cause;
No [device to close and allow the] healing of your wound,
No recovery for you.
‘All your lovers (allies) have forgotten you;
They do not seek and long for you.
For I have injured you with the wound of an enemy,
With the punishment of a cruel and merciless foe,
Because your guilt is great
And your sins are glaring and innumerable.
‘Why do you cry out over your injury [since it is the natural result of your sin]?
Your pain is incurable (deadly).
Because your guilt is great
And your sins are glaring and innumerable,
I have done these things to you.
‘Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity.
And they who plunder you will become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
‘For I will restore health to you
And I will heal your wounds,’ says the LORD,
‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying:
“This is Zion; no one seeks her and no one cares for her.”’
“Thus says the LORD,
‘Behold (hear this), I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city will be rebuilt on its [old, mound-like] ruin,
And the palace will stand on its rightful place.
‘From them (city, palace) will come [songs of] thanksgiving
And the voices of those who dance and celebrate.
And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished [in number];
I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.
‘Their children too will be as in former times,
And their congregation will be established before Me;
And I will punish all their oppressors.
‘Their prince will be one of them,
And their ruler will come forward from among them.
I will bring him near and he shall approach Me,
For who is he who would have the boldness and would dare [on his own initiative] to risk his life to approach Me?’ says the LORD.
Behold, the tempest of the LORD!
Wrath has gone forth,
A sweeping and gathering tempest;
It will burst on the head of the wicked.
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