My Lord Yahweh has sworn by his holiness that, "Behold, the days are coming upon you {when they} will take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishing hooks.

Yes, here is the one who forms [the] mountains, and the one who creates the wind, and the one who reveals to humans what his thoughts [are], and the one who treads on the heights of the earth; Yahweh, the God of hosts, [is] his name!"

For I know your transgressions [are] many and your sins [are] numerous, [you] foes of [the] righteous, those who take a bribe, and {those who} push aside [the] poor [ones] in the gate!

Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, my Lord, "In all [of] the public squares [there will be] wailing, and in all [of] the streets [they will say], 'Alas, alas, alas!' They shall call [the] farmers to mourning and [to] wailing, to those who are skilled [in] lamentation.

Cross over [to] Calneh and see, and go from there [to] Hamath Rabbah and go down [to] Gath of the Philistines. [Are] you better than these kingdoms, or is their territory greater than your territory?

[Alas for those] who drink from sprinkling bowls of wine and anoint themselves with the best of olive oils and are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

And [if] one's relative, who burns [the body], lifts it up and brings the body out of the house and he will say to someone in the innermost part of the house, "[Are there] any more with you?" and he will say, "None," then he will say, "Silence," because [we] must not invoke the name of Yahweh.

And so then, hear the word of Yahweh! You are saying, 'You must not prophesy against Israel and you must not preach against the house of Isaac!'

"And the songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," {declares} my Lord Yahweh. "The corpses are numerous; he throws them in every place. Be quiet!"

Look, the days are coming," {declares} my Lord Yahweh, "when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread and not a thirst for water, but {of hearing} the words of Yahweh!

[These are] those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, 'By the life of your gods, O Dan,' and 'By the life of the way of Beersheba,' they will fall and they will not rise again."

"Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?" {declares} Yahweh. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt and [the] Philistines from Caphtor and {the Arameans} from Kir?

Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh [are] on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," {declares} Yahweh.

Thus they may take possession of the remnant of Edom and all the nations {who are called by my name}," {declares} Yahweh, [who] does this.

"Look, days are coming," {declares} Yahweh, "when [the one who] plows will overtake [the one who] reaps, the one who treads grapes [will catch up] with the one who sows the seed. And the mountains will drip sweet wine and all of the hills will flow [with it].

And the exiles of this army of the people of Israel [will possess] Canaan up to Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who [are] in Sepharad will take possession of the cities of the Negev.

And the captain of the ship approached him and said to him, "Why are you {sound asleep}? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps [your] god will take notice of us and we won't perish!"

So they said to him, "Please tell us whoever [is responsible that] this disaster [has come] upon us! What [is] your occupation? And from where do you come? What [is] your country? And from which people [are] you?"

And he prayed to Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh, [was] this not {what I said} while I was in my homeland? Therefore {I originally fled} to Tarshish, because I knew that you [are] a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger {and having great steadfast love}, and one who relents concerning calamity.

But Yahweh said, "You are troubled about the plant, for which you did not labor nor cause it to grow. {It grew up in a night and it perished in a night}!

And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, {in which there are} more {than one hundred and twenty thousand} people who do not know right from left, plus many animals?"

All this [is] for the rebellion of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the rebellion of Jacob? [Is it] not Samaria? And what [are] the high places of Judah? [Are they] not Jerusalem?

For her wounds [are] incurable, because it has come to Judah. It has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.

In that day they will raise a proverb against you, and will wail a bitter wailing, saying, "We are utterly ruined; he exchanges [the] portion of my people. How he removes [it] from me; he apportions our field to an apostate."

"Do not preach!" they are preaching. They should not preach to these; disgrace will not overtake us.

Should [this] be said, O house of Jacob? Is the patience of Yahweh shortened? [Are] these his deeds? Are my words not pleasing to him who walks upright?

[Those of you who are] haters of good and lovers of evil, [who] tear their skin from them and their flesh from their bones,

Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who are leading my people astray, who are biting with their teeth and proclaim, "Peace," but whoever puts nothing into their mouths they declare war against.

And now, many nations are gathered against you who are saying, 'Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.'

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, [too] small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go out for me, to be ruler in Israel; and his origins [are] from of old, from ancient days.

Because her rich are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.

Their hands [are] upon evil, to do [it] well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe, and the great [man] utters the evil desire of his soul; and they weave [it] together.

For a son treats a father with contempt; a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; [the] enemies of a man [are] the men of his own house.

Yahweh is slow to anger but great [in] power; he will certainly not allow [the guilty] to go unpunished. {He marches} in storm wind and in gale; storm clouds [are the] dust of his feet.

His indignation--who can stand before it? Who can endure {his fierce anger}? His wrath is poured out like fire; rocks are shattered before him.

Yahweh says this: "Even though [they are] powerful and likewise many, even so they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.

Yahweh has commanded concerning you: "Your name will no longer be sown. I will cut off {the idols and images} from the {temple} of your gods; {I will send you to the grave} because you are worthless."

The shields of his warriors [are] dyed red; The powerful men [are] dressed in scarlet. The metal of the chariots [shines] like fire {on the day of battle}, and [their] spears quiver.

The gates of the river are opened; the palace trembles.

Chariots charge! Swords flash! Spears glitter! {Many corpses are piled high}! There is no end to the slain! They stumble over their dead!

Are you better than Thebes? She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters, her rampart [was the] sea and water [was] her wall.

All of your fortifications [are like] fig trees with [ripe] firstfruits-- if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.

Look! Your troops [are like] women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars [of your gates].

Your officials [are] like locusts; your commanders [are] like a swarm of locusts. They encamp on the walls on a cold day; when the sun rises, they fly away-- no one knows where they have gone.

Your shepherds are sleeping, king of Assyria! Your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains; no one can gather them.

They [are] dreadful and awesome; their justice and their dignity proceed from themselves.

Their horses [are] more swift than leopards; they are more menacing than wolves [at] dusk. Their horsemen gallop; their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle [that is] swift to devour.

And they themselves scoff at kings and rulers [are] a joke to them. They laugh at every fortification, and they heap up earth and take it.

Are you not from of old, O Yahweh my God, my Holy One? You shall not die. O Yahweh, you have marked them for judgment; O Rock, you have established them for reproof.

Your eyes [are] too pure to see evil, and you are not able to look at wrongdoing. Why do you look at the treacherous? [Why] are you silent when the wicked swallows up [someone] more righteous than him?

And it shall be [that] at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men {whose senses are dulled from drinking}, who say in their hearts, 'Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.'

Her officials in her midst [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they leave nothing until the morning.

Her prophets [are] arrogant men of treachery; her priests have defiled [that which is] holy; they do violence to [the] law.

"I have cut off nations; their strongholds are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, so that none pass through. Their cities have been destroyed [and are] without a man, without an inhabitant.

'You have looked for much, and look! [It came] to little; and [when] you brought [it] home, I blew it [away]. Why?' {declares} Yahweh of hosts. 'Because my house [is] desolate and you [are] running each to your own house!

"Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

And I asked, "What [are] these, my lord?" And the angel [who was] talking with me said, "I will show you what these are."

And the man standing between the myrtle shrubs answered and said, "These [are] those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol [the] earth."

And {I am extremely angry} with the nations that are at ease, for [while] I was a little angry, they {furthered disaster}."

And I said to the angel [who was] talking with me, "What [are] these?" And he said to me, "These [are] the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

and I asked, "What [are] these coming to do?" And he answered, saying, "These [are] the horns that scattered Judah, {so that no man} lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."

And I asked, "Where [are] you going?" And he answered me, "To measure Jerusalem to see what [is] its width and what [is] its length."

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways among these that are standing here.

Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions that are sitting {before} you. For [the] men [are] a sign that, look, I [am] going to bring my servant [the] Branch.

For consider, the stone that {I set before} Joshua, on one stone [are] seven eyes. Look, {I am going to engrave an inscription on it},' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day.

And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see, and look, {a lampstand all of gold}, and a bowl [was] on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven lips on [each of] the lamps that [are] on its top.

And [there are] two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."

And I answered and said to the angel [who was] talking to me, "What [are] these, my lord?"

And the angel [who was] talking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these [are]?" And I said, "No, my lord."

'Who [are] you O great mountain? {Before} Zerubbabel [you will become] level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '"

For whoever has despised the day of small [things] will rejoice and will see the {plumb line} in the hand of Zerubbabel." These seven [are] the eyes of Yahweh which [are] ranging {throughout the whole earth}.

And I answered and said to him, "What [are] these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?"

And I replied a second [time] and asked him, "What [are] these two twigs of olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?"

And he replied to me, "Do you not know what these [are]?" And I said, "No, my lord."

And he said, "These [are] the two {anointed ones} standing by the Lord of the whole earth."

And he asked me, "What [are] you seeing?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a flying scroll twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide."

And I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where [are] they taking the basket?"

And I answered and said to the angel [that was] talking to me, "What [are] these, my lord?"

And the angel answered and said to me, "These [are] the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God."

And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking [for yourselves]?

[Are] not [these] the words that Yahweh proclaimed {through} the former prophets, when Jerusalem and {its surrounding towns} were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?'"

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who [were present] on [the] day {the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts}.

These [are] the things that you must do: speak truth, each [of you], with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates.

Do not devise evil in your hearts [against] your neighbor, and do not love {a false oath}, because all these [are] things I hate," {declares} Yahweh.

and also Hamath, [which] borders on it; Tyre and Sidon--yes, they are very wise!

And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for [they are like] the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land.

Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

[Listen to] the wailing of the shepherds, for their splendor is ruined! [Listen to] the roar of [the] young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

For look, I [am] raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the [ones that are] perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the [ones that are] crushed and he will not sustain the healthy [ones]; he will devour the flesh of the {fattened ones} and tear apart [even] their hoofs.

And the clans of Judah will say {to themselves}, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us, through Yahweh of hosts, their God."

And someone shall say to him, "What [are] these wounds {between your arms}?" and he will say, "Those I have received [in] the house of [the ones who] love me." '"

And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'"

And this will be the plague [with] which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they [are] standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

If Edom says, "We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild [the] ruins," Yahweh of hosts says this: "They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people [with] whom Yahweh is angry forever."

[You are] presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying [that] the table of Yahweh is despised!

"But you [are] profaning it by saying the table of the Lord [is] defiled, and its fruit--its food--is despised!

If you will not listen, and if you will not {take it to heart} to give glory to my name," says Yahweh of hosts, "then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have [already] cursed them because {you are not taking it to heart}.

"And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you [are] not keeping my way, but are {favoring your own instruction}."