Impending Judgment on the Earth
1Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
4The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
5The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
and few people are left.
7The wine dries up,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9No longer do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that no one can enter.
11There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
13For thus it shall be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.
14They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.
15Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, I pine away,
I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously,
the treacherous deal very treacherously.
17Terror, and the pit, and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18Whoever flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit;
and whoever climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is torn asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20The earth staggers like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven in heaven,
and on earth the kings of the earth.
22They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23Then the moon will be abashed,
and the sun ashamed;
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will manifest his glory.
