1 I have seen the Lord standing by the altar, and He saith: `Smite the knob, and the thresholds shake, And cut them off by the head -- all of them, And their posterity with a sword I do slay, Not flee to them doth the fleer, Nor escape to them doth a fugitive.

I saw the Lord standing at the altar, and He said, Smite the tops of the pillars until the thresholds tremble, and shatter them on the heads of all of the people; and the remainder of them I will slay with the sword. He who flees of them shall not get away, and he who escapes of them shall not be delivered.

2 I f they dig through into sheol, From thence doth My hand take them, And if they go up the heavens, From thence I cause them to come down.

Though they dig into Sheol (Hades, the dark abode of the gathered dead), from there shall My hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there will I bring them down;

3 A nd if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them.

And though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search out and take them; and though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent and it shall bite them.

4 A nd if they go into captivity before their enemies, From thence I command the sword, And it hath slain them, And I have set Mine eye on them for evil, And not for good.

And though they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I command the sword and it shall slay them, and I will set My eyes upon them for evil and not for good.

5 A nd the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk -- like the flood of Egypt.

The Lord God of hosts, it is He Who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn; it shall rise like the Nile, all of it, and it shall sink again like the Nile of Egypt.

6 W ho is building in the heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop, Upon earth He hath founded it, Who is calling for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out on the face of the land, Jehovah His name.

It is He Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and Who founds His vault over the earth, Who calls to the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth—The Lord is His name.

7 A s sons of Cushim are ye not to Me? O sons of Israel -- an affirmation of Jehovah. Israel did I not bring up out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?

You are no more to Me than these Cushites, says the Lord. I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, but have I not brought the Philistines out of Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?

8 L o, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord.

9 F or lo, I am commanding, And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel, As doth shake with a sieve, And there falleth not a grain the earth.

For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations and cause it to move to and fro as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth and be lost.

10 B y sword die do all sinners of My people, Who are saying, `Not overtake, or go before, For our sakes, doth evil.'

All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake or meet us.

11 I n that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old.

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David, the fallen hut or booth, and close up its breaches; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old,

12 S o that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah -- doer of this.

That they may possess the remnant of Edom and of all the nations that are called by My name, says the Lord Who does this.

13 L o, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed, And the mountains have dropt juice, And all the hills do melt.

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt.

14 A nd I have turned back the captivity of My people Israel, And they have built desolate cities, and inhabited, And have planted vineyards, and drunk their wine, And made gardens, and eaten their fruit.

And I will bring back the exiles of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them.

15 A nd I have planted them on their own ground, And they are not plucked up any more from off their own ground, That I have given to them, said Jehovah thy God!

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be torn up out of their land which I gave them, says the Lord your God.