1 G ather together. Gather together, O nation without shame,

Collect your thoughts, yes, unbend yourselves, O shameless nation!

2 b efore you are driven away like the waste from the grain. Gather together before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger.

Therefore consider, before God’s decree brings forth, before the time is gone like the drifting chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you—yes, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you!

3 L ook for the Lord, all you people of the earth who are not proud, and who have obeyed His Laws. Look for what is right and good. Have no pride. You may be kept safe on the day of the Lord’s anger. The Nations around Israel Are Judged

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments; seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

4 F or Gaza will be left empty. Ashkelon will be laid waste. Ashdod’s people will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be pulled up by the roots.

For Gaza shall be forsaken and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; the people of Ashdod shall be driven out at noonday and Ekron shall be uprooted.

5 I t is bad for the people who live by the sea, the nation of the Cherethites! The Word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you so that no people will be left living in you.

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.

6 T he land by the sea will be open fields, a place for shepherds and fences for sheep.

And the seacoast shall be pastures, with dwelling places and caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

7 T he land by the sea will be for those left of the people of Judah. They will let their flocks eat there. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. For the Lord their God will care for them and return their riches.

The seacoast shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall pasture their flocks upon it; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they of Judah lie down in the evening. For the Lord their God shall visit them and restore them from their captivity.

8 “ I have heard how Moab has made fun of My people and the sons of Ammon have spoken strong words against them. They have spoken in pride against My people’s land.

I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites by which they have reproached My people, and magnified themselves and made boasts against their territory.

9 S o as I live,” says the Lord of All, the God of Israel, “Moab will be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon will be like Gomorrah, a land taken over by thistles and salt, a waste land forever. Those left of My people will rob them. Those left of My nation will take their land.”

Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and wild vetches and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people shall make a prey of them and what is left of My nation shall possess them.

10 T his will happen to them because of their pride, because they have made fun of the people of the Lord of All.

This shall they have for their pride, because they have taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 T hey will be filled with fear because of the Lord. He will destroy all the gods of the earth. All the nations beside the sea will worship Him, every one in his own land.

The Lord will be terrible to them, for He will make lean and famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship Him, every one from his place, even all the isles and coastlands of the nations.

12 “ You also, O Ethiopians, will be killed by My sword.”

You Ethiopians also, you shall be slain by My sword.

13 H e will put out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria. And He will destroy Nineveh, making it a waste land like the desert.

And will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, dry as the desert.

14 F locks will lie down in it, all the animals of the field. The pelican and the hedgehog will live in the tops of its pillars. Birds will sing in the window. And the doorways will be broken down. The pieces of cedar will not be covered.

Herds shall lie down in the midst of, all the beasts of the nations and of every kind; both the pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge on the upper part of her pillars; the voice shall sing in the windows; desolation and drought shall be on the thresholds, for her cedar paneling will He lay bare.

15 T his is the city that is full of joy and takes it easy and thinks it is safe. It says to itself, “I am, and there is no one else.” How it has become a waste, a resting place for animals! All who pass by will make fun of her and laugh at her shaking their hands.

This is the joyous and exultant city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am and there is none beside me. What a desolation she has become, a lair for beasts! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and wave his hand.