Chapter 2

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, agather,

O nation bwithout 1shame,

2 Before the decree 1takes effect—

The day passes alike the chaff—

Before the bburning anger of the Lord comes upon you,

Before the cday of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.

3 aSeek the Lord,

All you bhumble of the 1earth

Who have carried out His 2ordinances;

cSeek righteousness, seek humility.

Perhaps you will be dhidden

In the day of the Lord’s anger.

4 For aGaza will be abandoned

And Ashkelon a desolation;

aAshdod will be driven out at noon

And aEkron will be uprooted.

5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,

The nation of the 1aCherethites!

The word of the Lord is bagainst you,

O cCanaan, land of the Philistines;

And I will ddestroy you

So that there will be eno inhabitant.

6 So the seacoast will be apastures,

With 1caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

7 And the coast will be

For the aremnant of the house of Judah,

They will bpasture on it.

In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;

For the Lord their God will ccare for them

And drestore their fortune.

8 “I have heard the 1ataunting of Moab

And the brevilings of the sons of Ammon,

With which they have 2taunted My people

And 3cbecome arrogant against their territory.

9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,

The God of Israel,

“Surely aMoab will be like bSodom

And the sons of cAmmon like dGomorrah—

A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,

And a perpetual desolation.

The remnant of My people will eplunder them

And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

10 This they will have in return for their apride, because they have 1btaunted and 2become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 The Lord will be aterrifying to them, for He will 1starve ball the gods of the earth; and all the ccoastlands of the nations will dbow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

12 “You also, O aEthiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

13 And He will astretch out His hand against the north

And destroy bAssyria,

And He will make cNineveh a desolation,

Parched like the wilderness.

14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,

1All beasts which range in herds;

Both the 2apelican and the hedgehog

Will lodge in 3the tops of her pillars;

4Birds will sing in the window,

Desolation will be on the threshold;

For He has laid bare the cedar work.

15 This is the aexultant city

Which bdwells securely,

Who says in her heart,

“cI am, and there is no one besides me.”

How she has become a ddesolation,

A resting place for beasts!

eEveryone who passes by her will hiss

And wave his hand in contempt.

Chapter 3

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

1 Woe to her who is arebellious and bdefiled,

The ctyrannical city!

2 She aheeded no voice,

She baccepted no instruction.

She did not ctrust in the Lord,

She did not ddraw near to her God.

3 Her aprinces within her are roaring lions,

Her judges are bwolves at evening;

They leave nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are areckless, treacherous men;

Her bpriests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

5 The Lord is arighteous bwithin her;

He will cdo no injustice.

dEvery morning He brings His justice to light;

He does not fail.

But the unjust eknows no shame.

6 “I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are in ruins.

I have made their streets adesolate,

With no one passing by;

Their bcities are laid waste,

Without a man, cwithout an inhabitant.

7 “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,

aAccept instruction.’

So her dwelling will bnot be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to ccorrupt all their deeds.

8 “Therefore await for Me,” declares the Lord,

“For the day when I rise up as a witness.

Indeed, My decision is to bgather nations,

To assemble kingdoms,

To pour out on them My indignation,

All My burning anger;

For call the earth will be devoured

By the fire of My zeal.

9 “For then I will 1give to the peoples apurified lips,

That all of them may bcall on the name of the Lord,

To serve Him 2shoulder to shoulder.

10 “From beyond the rivers of aEthiopia

My 1worshipers, 2My dispersed ones,

Will bbring My offerings.

11 “In that day you will afeel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have rebelled against Me;

For then I will remove from your midst

Your bproud, exulting ones,

And you will never again be haughty

On My choly mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

12 “But I will leave among you

A ahumble and lowly people,

And they will btake refuge in the name of the Lord.

13 “The aremnant of Israel will bdo no wrong

And ctell no lies,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will dfeed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!

aShout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away aHis judgments against you,

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is bin your midst;

You will cfear disaster no more.

16 aIn that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“bDo not be afraid, O Zion;

cDo not let your hands fall limp.

17 “The Lord your God is ain your midst,

A 1bvictorious warrior.

He will cexult over you with joy,

He will 2be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

18 “I will gather those who agrieve about the appointed feasts—

They 1came from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on 2them.

19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time

With all your aoppressors,

I will save the blame

And gather the outcast,

And I will turn their cshame into dpraise and renown

In all the earth.

20 “At that time I will abring you in,

Even at the time when I gather you together;

Indeed, I will give you brenown and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I crestore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says the Lord.

The Book of

HAGGAI