'Armies' in the Bible

If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

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.

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;

Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah every source of security, including all the food and water,

Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?" The sovereign Lord who commands armies has spoken.

Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got -- disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got -- cries for help!

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

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

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.

They called out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!"

I said, "Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies."

You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.

Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

The people did not return to the one who struck them, they did not seek reconciliation with the Lord who commands armies.

Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, and the people became fuel for the fire. People had no compassion on one another.

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 sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land.

So here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did.

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.

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.

There is a loud noise on the mountains -- it sounds like a large army! There is great commotion among the kingdoms -- nations are being assembled! The Lord who commands armies is mustering forces for battle.

So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies, in the day he vents his raging anger.

"I will rise up against them," says the Lord who commands armies. "I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, including the offspring she produces," says the Lord.

"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow: "Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites," says the Lord who commands armies.

At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. The tribute will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.

I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.

The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.

It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.

The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, "Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!"

O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.

For the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. In the Valley of Vision people shout and cry out to the hill.

At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.

The Lord who commands armies told me this: "Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:

"At that time," says the Lord who commands armies, "the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off." Indeed, the Lord has spoken.

The Lord who commands armies planned it -- to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.

The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine -- tender meat and choicest wine.

At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land.

This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me: "The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it.

For the Lord is angry at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate them and slaughter them.

"O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.

"For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies:

This is what the Lord, Israel's king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: "I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.

It is me -- I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe," says the Lord who commands armies.

says our protector -- the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves surge. The Lord who commands armies is his name!

For your husband is the one who made you -- the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called "God of the entire earth."