When the time of childbirth comes, he will be so foolish that he will refuse to be born."

Israel's branches will spread out, and its beauty will be like an olive tree, with its scent like that of Lebanon.

That nation laid waste my vines, and stripped bare my fig tree, discarding it. It stripped off its bark.

They leap like the rumbling of chariots echoing from mountain tops, like the roar of wild fire that devours the chaff, as an army firmly established in battle array.

As they serve between the porch and the altar, let the priests and ministers of the LORD weep and pray: "Spare your people, LORD, and do not make your heritage a disgrace so that nations ridicule them. Why should they say among the people, "Where is their God?"'"

"Then I will restore to you the years that the locust swarm devoured, as did the young locust, the other locusts, and the ravaging locust, that great army of mine that I sent among you.

As a result, you will know that I am in the midst of Israel; that I myself am the LORD your God and there is none other! And my people will never be ashamed."

"Then it will come about at a later time that I will pour out my Spirit on every person. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your elderly people will dream dreams, and your young people will see visions.

Also at that time I will pour out my Spirit upon men and women servants.

"Look, now! In those very days and at that time, when I restore prosperity to Judah and Jerusalem,

"And truly you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no foreigners will invade her again.

It will come about at that time that the mountains will drip with newly pressed wine, the hills will flow with milk, and the streams of Judah will flow abundantly. A fountain will spring from the Temple of the LORD, to water the Valley of the Acacias.

I will acquit their bloodguilt that has not yet been acquitted. For the LORD lives in Zion!"

Even the bravest of elite troops will run away naked at that time," 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:

Because they do not know how to act right," declares the LORD, "they are filling their strongholds with treasures that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels."

"because on that day I will lay out the charges against Israel. I will also bring judgment upon the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.

"I therefore have withheld the rain from you three months before the harvest, causing rain to come upon one city, but not upon another, and upon one field but not upon another, so that it would wither.

"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.'"

It is he who is raining sudden destruction upon the strong like lightning, so that ruin comes upon the fortress.

and because I know that your transgressions are many, and your sins are numerous as you oppose the righteous, taking bribes as a ransom, and turning away the poor in court

"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.

Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness, and not light pitch black at that, without a ray of sunshine?"

"Was it to me that you brought offerings and gifts in the desert for 40 years, house of Israel?

And you carried the tent of your king and Saturn, your star god idols that you crafted for yourselves.

Cross over to Calneh and look around, then go on to that great city of Hamath, and from there go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory more extensive than yours?

"Disbelieving that a day of evil will come, embracing opportunities to commit violence,

You rejoice in nothing worth mentioning that is, you keep on saying, "We captured Karnaim by our own strength of will and by our own effort, didn't we?'

And so it came about that when the swarm had finished eating the grass of the land, I was saying, "Lord GOD, forgive please! How will Jacob stand, since he is small?"

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.

At that time," declares the Lord GOD, "the temple songs will be wailing. Many bodies will accumulate everywhere.

It will come about at that time," declares the Lord GOD, "I will cause the sun to set at noon and the earth to darken in the daylight.

I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all of your songs to dirges. I will cause all of you to put on sackcloth and to shave all of your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son, and its conclusion will be like the end of a bitter day."

At that time, the beautiful virgins will faint, as will the strong young men from thirst.

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying, "Strike the doorposts so that the thresholds tremble, bringing them down on the heads of all of them. Those who survive I will kill with the sword. Those who flee will not escape. There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.

"The Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies who is touching the earth so that it melts and all of its inhabitants mourn there the land rises like the Nile River, but sinks like the river of Egypt

"At that time I will restore David's fallen tent, restoring its torn places. I will restore its ruins, rebuilding it as it was long ago,

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.

I will plant the people of Israel in their own land, never again to be torn out of their land that I gave them," says the LORD your God.

"In that day," declares the Lord, "will I not destroy the wise from Edom, and those with understanding from Esau's Mountain?

Teman, our mighty soldiers will be dismayed, so that every man from Esau's Mountain will be slaughtered."

"Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city! Then cry out in protest against it, because their evil has come to my attention."

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!

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."

Those who cling to vain idols leave behind the gracious love that could have been theirs.

"Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."

Who knows but that God may relent, have compassion, and turn from his fierce anger, so that we are not exterminated?"

God took note of what they did that they turned from their evil ways. Because God relented concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.

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.

Therefore, LORD, please kill me, because it's better for me to die than to live!"

But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm that attacked the vine plant so that it withered away.

When the sun rose, God prepared a harsh east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah's head, he became faint, and he begged to die. "It is better for me to die than to live!" he said.

But the LORD asked, "You cared about a vine plant that you neither worked on nor cultivated? A vine plant that grew up overnight and died overnight?

So why shouldn't I be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 human beings who do not know their right hand from their left, as well as a lot of livestock?

Therefore give your gifts to Moresheth-gath; that is, the houses of Achzib as a deceitful symbol to the kings of Israel.

"Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not listen to them. In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they were so wicked in what they were doing."

"But in the last days it will come about that the Temple Mount of the LORD will be firmly set as the leading mountain. It will be exalted above its surrounding hills, and people will stream toward it.

"At that time," declares the LORD, "I will assemble the lame; and I will gather those whom I have scattered, along with those whom I have afflicted.

Therefore that ruler will abandon them until the woman in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his countrymen will return to the Israelis."

"It will come about at that time," declares the LORD, "I will tear away your horses from you, and I will destroy your chariots.

"My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated, and how Beor's son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of the LORD."

Poor me! I feel like those who harvest summer fruit, or like those who pick grapes there are no clusters to eat or any fresh fruit that I want.

When the time comes for rebuilding your walls, that time will surely be extended.

At that time armies will invade you from Assyria, from Egyptian cities to the Euphrates River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

Use your rod to shepherd your people, the flock that belongs to you, that lives alone in the forest of Carmel. Let them find pasture in Bashan and Gilead, as they did long ago.

It will be that everyone who looks at you will run away, saying, "Nineveh has been violently overthrown! Who will mourn for her? Where will I find anyone to comfort you?'"

"Are you any better than Thebes, which sits by the upper Nile, surrounded by water? The sea was her defense, the waters her wall of protection.

In that place fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down, consuming you as locusts do. Multiply yourself like locusts, increase like swarming grasshoppers.

You added to your inventory of businessmen they number more than the stars of heaven. The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.

The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk perceived.

"Look out at the nations and pay attention! Be astounded! Be really astounded! Because something is happening in your lifetime that you won't believe, even if it were described down to the smallest detail.

Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own.

Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures.

Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil; and you cannot tolerate wickedness. So why do you tolerate the treacherous? And why do you stay silent while the wicked devour those who are more righteous than they are?

"You have fashioned mankind like fish in the ocean, like creeping things that have no ruler.

When he answered, the LORD told me: "Write out the revelation, engraving it clearly on the tablets, so that a courier may run with it.

Is it not because of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies that people grow tired putting out fires, and nations weary themselves over nothing?

"Where is the benefit in owning a carved image, that motivates its maker to carve it? It is only a cast image a teacher that lies because the engraver entrusts himself to his carving, crafting speechless idols.

I heard and I trembled within. My lips quivered at the noise. My legs gave way beneath me, and I trembled. Nevertheless, I await the day of distress that will dawn on our invaders.

I'll wipe out those who worship the stars that they view from their housetops, those who bow down and swear to the LORD and who also swear by Milcom,

"It will come about during the LORD's sacrifice that I'll punish the officials, the royal descendants, and all who wear foreign clothing.

And it will come about that I will search Jerusalem with candles, punishing the self-satisfied and complacent, who say to themselves, "The LORD will do neither good nor evil.'

That day will be filled with wrath, a day of trouble and tribulation, a day of desolation and devastation, a day of doom and gloom, a day of clouds and shadows,

"And I'll bring so much distress to people that they will walk around like the blind. Because they have sinned against the LORD, their blood will be poured out like dust and their intestines will spill out like manure.

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!"

Its national officials are roaring lions; its judges are like wolves of the night that don't leave the bones for the morning.

Indeed, then I will return my people to a pure language so that they all may call upon the name of the LORD, serving him with a united will.

"Watch how I deal with everyone who oppresses you! At that time I will rescue the one who is lame, and I will draw to me the one who has been driven away. I will honor them with praise and with a good reputation in every land where they have been put to shame.

At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. Indeed, I will give you a good reputation, making you praiseworthy among all of the people of the world, when I restore your prosperity before your eyes," says the LORD.

That is why the heavens keep withholding dew from you, and the earth withholds her fruit.

"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."

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.

I punished you and everything that you undertook with scorching wind, with mildew, and with hail, and you still did not return to me,' declares the LORD.

On that day,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, "and I will set you in place like a signet ring. For I have chosen you,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies."

But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: "The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.'"

I asked the angel who was talking to me, "What are those?" So he answered me, "Those are the forces that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

Then I asked, "What have they come to do?" He answered, "Those horns that dispersed Judah so that no one could lift up his head those artisans are coming to disrupt the power of nations, tearing them down now that they've come to power and dispersed the land of Judah."

Look! That angel who was talking to me left, and another angel came forward to meet him.