Now as for the two kings, their intentions will be evil, and they'll promote deception at their dinner table, but none of this will succeed, because the end won't have come yet.

"Then while I, Daniel, continued watching, suddenly two others stood there, one on this side of the river bank and one on the other side.

Despite this, the number of the people of Israel will be like ocean sand, which can neither be measured nor counted. And the time will come when instead of it being said, "You are not my people,' it will be said, "You are children of the living God.'

"Hear this message from the LORD, people of Israel. Indeed, the LORD brings a charge against the people who live in the land for there is no truth and no gracious love or knowledge of God in the land.

"Hear this, priests, pay attention, house of Israel, listen, royal family! For judgment is coming your way, because you have been a trap to Mizpah, a snare spread out on Mount Tabor.

"But like Adam, they broke the covenant; in this they have acted deceitfully against me.

Israel's arrogance testifies against him; but they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him in all of this.

This message from the LORD came to Pethuel's son Joel.

"Hear this, you elders! Listen, all of you residents of the land! Has there ever been anything like this during your lifetime, or even when your ancestors were alive?

Tear your hearts, not your garments; and turn back to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to become angry, overflowing in gracious love, and grieves about this evil.

"Declare this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Wake up your elite forces! Let all the soldiers draw near! Call them up!

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Damascus and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they have trampled down Gilead with ironclad threshing sleds.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Gaza and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they exiled the entire population, delivering them to Edom.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Tyre and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they delivered the entire population to Edom, and did not remember their covenant with their relatives.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Edom and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because he pursued his brother with a sword, refusing to be compassionate. His anger was raging continuously; he kept up his unending wrath.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their national borders.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Moab because they cremated the bones of the king of Edom, burning them to lime.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Judah and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they rejected the Law of the LORD and did not keep his statutes. Their own lies made them wander off, following along the same path their ancestors walked.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Israel and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they sold the righteous for money, and the poor for sandals,

I also raised up your sons to be prophets, and from your young men I raised up Nazirites. Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD.

"Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken about you, people of Israel. It concerns the entire family that I brought from the land of Egypt:

Announce this in the fortified citadels of Ashdod, and in the fortified citadels of the land of Egypt. Tell them, "Gather together on the mountains of Samaria; look at the great misery among the citadels, along with the oppression within Egypt.'

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "An enemy will surround the land. He will pull down your defenses, and plunder your fortified citadels."

This is what the LORD says: "Just as a shepherd might save from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear, the Israelis will be saved in a similar manner those in Samaria who sit on the remains of their broken beds, and those in Damascus who lie on the edge of their couches."

"Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan, who live on the Samaritan mountains, who oppress the poor, who rob the needy, and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!"

While you're at it, present a thank offering with leaven, and publicize your freewill offerings, letting everyone hear about it, because this is what you really love to do, you Israelis," declares the Lord GOD.

"Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I am about to do this, prepare to be summoned to your God, Israel!"

"Hear this accusation that I am bringing against you: "A dirge, house of Israel:

"For this is what the Lord GOD says: "The city that is sending out a thousand will have a hundred left; The city that is sending out a hundred will have ten left of the house of Israel.'"

"For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live,

"Pursue good and not evil, so that you may live, and this is what will happen: The LORD God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you, as you have been claiming.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, the Lord, says: "There will be dirges in all of the streets; and in all of the highways they will cry out in anguish. They will call the farmer to mourning and those who lament to grieve.

"Woe to those who are craving the Day of the LORD! How is it to your benefit, this Day of the LORD? It's a day of darkness to you, and not light.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! He was forming locust swarms as the latter plantings were just beginning to sprout. Indeed, the king had just taken his first fruit tax.

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen," said the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire, and it was drying up the great depths of the ocean and consuming the land.

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen, either," said the Lord GOD.

This is what he showed me: Look! The Lord was standing upon a wall that stood straight and true, with a plumb line in his hand.

because Amos is saying this: "By the sword will Jeroboam die, and Israel will surely go into exile far from her homeland.'"

"Very well then, hear this message from the LORD: "You are saying, "Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the house of Isaac."

"Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Your wife will become a whore in the city, and your sons and daughters will die by the sword. Your land will be divided and apportioned, and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will surely go into exile, far from its homeland."'"

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! A basket of summer fruit!

"Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy, who intend to make the poor of the land fail,

Surely the land will tremble because of this, won't it? And all who live in it will mourn, won't they? The entire land will swell up like a flooded river. It will be stirred up and then will sink like the river of Egypt.

so my people may inherit the remnant of Edom and all of the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD who is bringing this about.

1Obadiah's vision: This is what the Lord God has to say about Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been dispatched among the nations to say "Get up! Let us rise up against her to fight!"

Now this message from the LORD came to Amittai's son Jonah:

At this point the mariners became terrified, and each man cried out to his gods. They began to throw the cargo into the sea in order to lighten the vessel. But Jonah had gone down into the vessel's hold, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, each crewman told another, "Come on! Let's cast lots to find out whose fault it is that we're in this trouble." So they cast lots, and the lot indicated Jonah!

So they interrogated him: "Tell us, why has this trouble come upon us? What's your occupation? Where'd you come from? What's your home country? What's your nationality?"

In mounting terror, the men asked him, "What have you done?" The men were aware that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had admitted this to them.

Jonah told them, "Pick me up and toss me into the sea. Then the sea will calm down for you, because I know that it's my fault that this mighty storm has come upon you."

At last they cried out to the LORD, "Please, LORD, do not let us perish because of this man's life, and do not hold us responsible for innocent blood, because you, LORD, have done what pleased you."

This message from the LORD came to Jonah a second time:

Then he had this proclamation published throughout Nineveh: "By decree of the king and his nobles:

So he prayed to the LORD, "LORD, isn't this what I said while I was still in my home country? That's why I fled previously to Tarshish, because I knew you're a compassionate God, slow to anger, overflowing with gracious love, and reluctant to send trouble.

This message from the LORD came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:

All this comes about due to the transgression of Jacob, and due to the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's sin? It's Samaria, isn't it? And what's Judah's high place? It's Jerusalem, isn't it?

"Therefore this is what the LORD says, "I'm crafting evil against this family, from which you can't escape. You won't strut around arrogantly, because the times are evil.'

"When this happens, someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully, "We are completely ruined! He has given my people's heritage to others. How he has removed it from me, dividing up our fields!'

"This is why there will not be left even a single person to settle boundary disputes in the LORD's community.

"It is said, house of Jacob, "The Spirit of the LORD is limited, if he acts this way, is he not?' "But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?

Suppose a man who keeps company with a deceiving spirit prophesies like this: "Drink wine and strong drink!' Won't the people accept him as a prophet?"

"This is what the LORD says about the prophets who are causing my people to go astray, who are calling out "Peace' when they're being fed, but who declare war against those who won't feed them:

Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel, you who hate administering justice, who pervert the very meaning of equity,

The shepherds will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword, along with the entrances to the land of Nimrod. "This is how he will vanquish Assyria when he invades our land, trampling within our borders:

This is what the LORD says: "No matter how strong they are, and no matter how numerous, they will surely be annihilated and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will do so no more.

Now this is what the Lord has decreed about you, Nineveh: "There will be no more children born to carry on your name. I will cut out the graven and molten images from the temples of your gods. I myself will dig your grave, because you are vile."

Where is this lion's den? Where is the place where the young lions fed, where the lion and its mate walked with their young, the place where they feared nothing?

This lion renders its prey to pieces to feed its whelps, and strangles enough prey for its mate, filling its lairs with prey and its dens with rendered flesh.

Woe to this city, contaminated with shed blood, all full of lies and robberies it is never without victims!

Innumerable are the harlotries of this well-favored whore, this mistress of witchcraft, who enslaves nations through her fornication and families through her sorcery.

"Woe to the one who says to a tree, "Wake up!' or "Arise!' to a speechless stone. Idols like this can't teach, can they? Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver, there's no breath in it at all."

This message from the Lord came to Cushi's son Zephaniah, the grandson of Gedaliah and great-grandson of Hezekiah's son Amariah, during the reign of Amon's son Josiah, king of Judah:

"I will also stretch out my hand against Judah, and upon all inhabitants of Jerusalem. I'll wipe out every trace of Baal from this place, and the name of the pagan priests, along with my own priests.

When all of this happens," declares the LORD, "a loud shriek will come from the Fish Gate, and howling from the Mishneh Quarter, along with great destruction from the hills."

Woe to those who live along the coast, the people of Philistia! This message from the LORD is being spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I'll destroy you until no one lives there!'

This they will have in lieu of their pride, because they have insulted and mocked the people of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly, that told herself, "Me first!' and, "There will be no one else!' How ruined she has become a habitat for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her and make obscene gestures!"

Woe to this filthy, polluted, and oppressive city!

When this happens, you will not be ashamed of your actions by which you sinned against me, because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride. Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.

"When all of this happens, it will be told Jerusalem, "Don't be afraid!" and to Zion, "Don't lose courage!"

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year of the reign of King Darius, this message from the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Jehozadak's son Joshua, the high priest:

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "These people keep saying, "No, the right time for rebuilding the LORD's Temple has not yet come."'"

Then this message from the LORD came by Haggai the prophet:

"Is it the right time for all of you to live in your own paneled houses while this house remains in ruins?"

"Now this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, says: "Carefully consider your ways:

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Carefully consider your ways:

This took place on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of the reign of King Darius.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this message from the LORD came by Haggai the prophet:

"Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And what does it look like now? From what you can see, it seems like nothing, doesn't it?

"For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Once more, in a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land to shake.

I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come. Then I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

"The glory of this present house will be greater than was the former," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "And in this place I will grant peace," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies."

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of the second year of the reign of King Darius, this message from the LORD came to Haggai the prophet:

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Ask the priests about what the Law says:

Then Haggai answered, ""That's how I look at this people and this nation,' declares the LORD. "And that's how it is with everything they undertake and with what they offer there it is unclean.

"Pay attention from now on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, when the foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid. Pay attention!

Is there seed left in the granary? Up until now, neither the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, nor the olive tree has borne fruit, but from this very day I will bless you.'"

This message from the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month: