9:1 | I saw the sovereign One* standing by the altar* and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars,* so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people,* and I will kill the survivors* with the sword. No one will be able to run away;* no one will be able to escape.* |
9:2 | Even if they could dig down into the netherworld,* my hand would pull them up from there. Even if they could climb up to heaven, I would drag them down from there. |
9:3 | Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I would hunt them down and take them from there. Even if they tried to hide from me* at the bottom of the sea, from there* I would command the Sea Serpent* to bite them. |
9:4 | Even when their enemies drive them into captivity,* from there* I will command the sword to kill them. I will not let them out of my sight; they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”* |
9:5 | The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this.* He touches the earth and it dissolves;* all who live on it mourn. The whole earth* rises like the River Nile,* and then grows calm* like the Nile in Egypt.* |
9:6 | He builds the upper rooms of his palace* in heaven and sets its foundation supports* on the earth.* He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name. |
9:7 | “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,”* says the Lord. “Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor* and the Arameans from Kir.* |
9:8 | Look, the sovereign Lord is watching* the sinful nation,* and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family* of Jacob,” says the Lord. |
9:9 | “For look, I am giving a command and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations. It will resemble a sieve being shaken, when not even a pebble falls to the ground.* |
9:10 | All the sinners among my people will die by the sword – the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’ |
9:11 | “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut* of David. I will seal its* gaps, repair its* ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.* |
9:12 | As a result they* will conquer those left in Edom* and all the nations subject to my rule.”* The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking! |
9:13 | “Be sure of this,* the time is* coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper* and the one who stomps the grapes* will overtake* the planter.* Juice will run down the slopes,* it will flow down all the hillsides.* |
9:14 | I will bring back my people, Israel;* they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble* and settle down.* They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;* they will grow orchards* and eat the fruit they produce.* |
9:15 | I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the* land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. |