"As for you, my servant Jacob, don't be afraid, and Israel, don't be dismayed. For I'll deliver you from a distant place, and your descendants from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return. He will be undisturbed and secure, and no one will cause him to fear.

"Tell the nations, "Here they come!' Proclaim to Jerusalem, "The besieging forces are coming from a distant land. They cry out against the cities of Judah.

What good is frankincense that comes from Sheba to me, or sweet cane from a distant country? Your burnt offerings aren't acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me."

Listen! My people cry from a distant land: "Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her king no longer there?" "Why did they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign gods?"

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Look, disaster is going from nation to nation, a great storm is being stirred up from the most distant parts of the earth.

"My servant Jacob, don't be afraid,' declares the LORD, "and Israel, don't be dismayed. For I'll deliver you from a distant place and your descendants from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return. He will be undisturbed and secure, and no one will cause him to fear.

Nations, listen to this message from the LORD, and declare it in the distant coastlands. Say, "The one who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."