If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.

But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: "Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.

I will attack you; I will purify your metal with flux. I will remove all your slag.

I will reestablish honest judges as in former times, wise advisers as in earlier days. Then you will be called, 'The Just City, Faithful Town.'"

Zion will be freed by justice, and her returnees by righteousness.

All rebellious sinners will be shattered, those who abandon the Lord will perish.

Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards where you choose to worship.

For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither, like an orchard that is unwatered.

The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.

In the future the mountain of the Lord's temple will endure as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it,

many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards." For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.

He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.

Proud men will be brought low, arrogant men will be humiliated; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, for all the high and mighty, for all who are proud -- they will be humiliated;

Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.

They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.

At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,

The Lord says, "I will make youths their officials; malicious young men will rule over them.

The people will treat each other harshly; men will oppose each other; neighbors will fight. Youths will proudly defy the elderly and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected.

Indeed, a man will grab his brother right in his father's house and say, 'You own a coat -- you be our leader! This heap of ruins will be under your control.'

At that time the brother will shout, 'I am no doctor, I have no food or coat in my house; don't make me a leader of the people!'"

Tell the innocent it will go well with them, for they will be rewarded for what they have done.

Too bad for the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve.

So the sovereign master will afflict the foreheads of Zion's women with skin diseases, the Lord will make the front of their heads bald."

At that time the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments,

A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, a rope will replace a belt, baldness will replace braided locks of hair, a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe, and a prisoner's brand will replace beauty.

Your men will fall by the sword, your strong men will die in battle.

Her gates will mourn and lament; deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.

Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, "We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you -- take away our shame!"

At that time the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel.

Those remaining in Zion, those left in Jerusalem, will be called "holy," all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.

At that time the sovereign master will wash the excrement from Zion's women, he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem's midst, as he comes to judge and to bring devastation.

Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over its convocations a cloud and smoke by day and a bright flame of fire by night; indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord's glorious presence.

By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat, as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.

I will sing to my love -- a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.

I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it.

The Lord who commands armies told me this: "Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.

Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons, and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel."

Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.

So Death will open up its throat, and open wide its mouth; Zion's dignitaries and masses will descend into it, including those who revel and celebrate within her.

Men will be humiliated, they will be brought low; the proud will be brought low.

The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes, the sovereign God's authority will be recognized when he judges.

Lambs will graze as if in their pastures, amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.

They say, "Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!"

Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.

At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness.

I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, "Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?" I answered, "Here I am, send me!"

Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family."

For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: "It will not take place; it will not happen.

For Syria's leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation.

Ephraim's leader is Samaria, and Samaria's leader is the son of Remaliah. If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure."

For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.

He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right.

Here is why this will be so: Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land whose two kings you fear will be desolate.

The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father's family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah -- the king of Assyria!"

At that time the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.

All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes.

At that time the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; it will also shave off the beard.

At that time a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats.

From the abundance of milk they produce, he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.

At that time every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun with thorns and briers.

With bow and arrow men will hunt there, for the whole land will be covered with thorns and briers.

They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.

Then I will summon as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah."

for before the child knows how to cry out, 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

So look, the sovereign master is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River -- the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks.

It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel."

You will be broken, O nations; you will be shattered! Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth! Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! For God is with us!

He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble -- to the two houses of Israel. He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.

Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be seriously injured, and will be ensnared and captured."

I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of Jacob; I will wait for him.

They will say to you, "Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?"

They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. In earlier times he humiliated the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali; but now he brings honor to the way of the sea, the region beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the nations.

His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David's throne and over David's kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord's intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

"The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with chiseled stone; the sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

What will you do on judgment day, when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners, or to fall among those who have been killed. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

As I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols."

But when the sovereign master finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.

For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke.

The light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One will become a flame; it will burn and consume the Assyrian king's briers and his thorns in one day.

The splendor of his forest and his orchard will be completely destroyed, as when a sick man's life ebbs away.

There will be so few trees left in his forest, a child will be able to count them.

At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you.

For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction."

The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.

At that time the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.

Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.

The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax, and mighty Lebanon will fall.

A shoot will grow out of Jesse's root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.

The Lord's spirit will rest on him -- a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

He will take delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by mere appearances, or make decisions on the basis of hearsay.

He will treat the poor fairly, and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and order the wicked to be executed.