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 beside the altar, and He said, “Break the tops of the pillars so that the bases shake! Break them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away.

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.

Even if they dig into the place of the dead, My hand will take them from there. Even if they go up to heaven, I will bring them down from there.

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.

Even if they hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will find them and take them from there. Even if they hide themselves from My eyes on the bottom of the sea, there I will tell the large sea-snake to 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.

Even if they are taken away to a strange land by those who hate them, there I will have the sword kill them. I will set My eyes against them to hurt them, and not to bring good to them.”

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 All is the One Who touches the land and it melts. All those who live in it are filled with sorrow. All of it rises and falls like the Nile River 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.

The Lord builds His upper rooms in the heavens and sets His sky over the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on 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?

“Are you not like the Ethiopians to Me, you people of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from 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.

See, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful nation, and I will destroy it from the earth. But I will not destroy all the people 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.

“I will say what must be done. I will shake the people of Jacob among all the nations, as grain is shaken on a fine net. But not the smallest seed will fall to the ground.

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 among My people who say, ‘The trouble will not catch up to us or come to us,’ will die by the sword. Israel to Have New Life

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 I will build again the tent of David that fell down. Yes, I will build it again from the stones that fell down. I will set it up again as it used to be.

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.

And so the people of Israel will own what is left of the land of Edom and 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.

“The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when the man who plows will catch up with the man who gathers. The man who crushes the grapes will catch up with the man who plants the seed. The mountains will drip sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.

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 return My people Israel to their riches. They will build again the cities that have been destroyed, and live in them. They will plant grape-fields and drink their wine. And they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

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!

I will plant My people on their land. And they will never again be pulled up from the land I gave them,” says the Lord your God.