The Return from Exile

¹The Lord will once again be merciful to his people Israel and choose them as his own. He will let them live in their own land again, and foreigners will come and live there with them.

²Many nations will help the people of Israel return to the land which the Lord gave them, and there the nations will serve Israel as slaves. Those who once captured Israel will now be captured by Israel, and the people of Israel will rule over those who once oppressed them.

The King of Babylon in the World of the Dead

³The Lord will give the people of Israel relief from their pain and suffering and from the hard work they were forced to do.

⁴When he does this, they are to mock the king of Babylon and say: “The cruel king has fallen! He will never oppress anyone again!

⁵The Lord has ended the power of the evil rulers

⁶who angrily oppressed the peoples and never stopped persecuting the nations they had conquered.

⁷Now at last the whole world enjoys rest and peace, and everyone sings for joy.

⁸The cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king, because there is no one to cut them down, now that he is gone!

⁹“The world of the dead is getting ready to welcome the king of Babylon. The ghosts of those who were powerful on earth are stirring about. The ghosts of kings are rising from their thrones.

¹⁰They all call out to him, ‘Now you are as weak as we are! You are one of us!

¹¹You used to be honored with the music of harps, but now here you are in the world of the dead. You lie on a bed of maggots and are covered with a blanket of worms.’”

¹²King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground.

¹³You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble.

¹⁴You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.

¹⁵But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.

¹⁶The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?

¹⁷Is this the man who destroyed cities and turned the world into a desert? Is this the man who never freed his prisoners or let them go home?”

¹⁸All the kings of the earth lie in their magnificent tombs,

¹⁹but you have no tomb, and your corpse is thrown out to rot. It is covered by the bodies of soldiers killed in battle, thrown with them into a rocky pit, and trampled down.

²⁰Because you ruined your country and killed your own people, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive.

²¹Let the slaughter begin! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.

God Will Destroy Babylon

²²The Lord Almighty says, “I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing—no children, no survivors at all. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²³I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”

God Will Destroy the Assyrians

²⁴The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: “What I have planned will happen. What I have determined to do will be done.

²⁵I will destroy the Assyrians in my land of Israel and trample them on my mountains. I will free my people from the Assyrian yoke and from the burdens they have had to bear.

²⁶This is my plan for the world, and my arm is stretched out to punish the nations.”

²⁷The Lord Almighty is determined to do this; he has stretched out his arm to punish, and no one can stop him.

God Will Destroy the Philistines

²⁸This is a message that was proclaimed in the year that King Ahaz died.

²⁹People of Philistia, the rod that beat you is broken, but you have no reason to be glad. When one snake dies, a worse one comes in its place. A snake's egg hatches a flying dragon.

³⁰The Lord will be a shepherd to the poor of his people and will let them live in safety. But he will send a terrible famine on you Philistines, and it will not leave any of you alive.

³¹Howl and cry for help, all you Philistine cities! Be terrified, all of you! A cloud of dust is coming from the north—it is an army with no cowards in its ranks.

³²How shall we answer the messengers that come to us from Philistia? We will tell them that the Lord has established Zion and that his suffering people will find safety there.

God Will Destroy Moab

¹This is a message about Moab. The cities of Ar and Kir are destroyed in a single night, and silence covers the land of Moab.

²The people of Dibon climb the hill to weep at the shrine. The people of Moab wail in grief over the cities of Nebo and Medeba; they have shaved their heads and their beards in grief.

³The people in the streets are dressed in sackcloth; in the city squares and on the rooftops people mourn and cry.

⁴The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their cry can be heard as far away as Jahaz. Even the soldiers tremble; their courage is gone.

⁵My heart cries out for Moab! The people have fled to the town of Zoar, and to Eglath Shelishiyah. Some climb the road to Luhith, weeping as they go; some escape to Horonaim, grieving loudly.

⁶Nimrim Brook is dry, the grass beside it has withered, and nothing green is left.

⁷The people go across the Valley of Willows, trying to escape with all their possessions.

⁸Everywhere at Moab's borders the sound of crying is heard. It is heard at the towns of Eglaim and Beerelim.

⁹At the town of Dibon the river is red with blood, and God has something even worse in store for the people there. Yes, there will be a bloody slaughter of everyone left in Moab.

¹This is the Lord's message to Joel son of Pethuel.

The People Mourn the Destruction of the Crops

²Pay attention, you older people; everyone in Judah, listen. Has anything like this ever happened in your time or the time of your ancestors?

³Tell your children about it; they will tell their children, who in turn will tell the next generation.

⁴Swarm after swarm of locusts settled on the crops; what one swarm left, the next swarm devoured.

⁵Wake up and weep, you drunkards; cry, you wine-drinkers; the grapes for making new wine have been destroyed.

⁶An army of locusts has attacked our land; they are powerful and too many to count; their teeth are as sharp as those of a lion.

⁷They have destroyed our grapevines and chewed up our fig trees. They have stripped off the bark, till the branches are white.

⁸Cry, you people, like a young woman who mourns the death of the man she was going to marry.

⁹There is no grain or wine to offer in the Temple; the priests mourn because they have no offerings for the Lord.

¹⁰The fields are bare; the ground mourns because the grain is destroyed, the grapes are dried up, and the olive trees are withered.

¹¹Grieve, you farmers; cry, you that take care of the vineyards, because the wheat, the barley, yes all the crops are destroyed.

¹²The grapevines and fig trees have withered; all the fruit trees have wilted and died. The joy of the people is gone.

¹³Put on sackcloth and weep, you priests who serve at the altar! Go into the Temple and mourn all night! There is no grain or wine to offer your God.

¹⁴Give orders for a fast; call an assembly! Gather the leaders and all the people of Judah into the Temple of the Lord your God and cry out to him!

¹⁵The day of the Lord is near, the day when the Almighty brings destruction. What terror that day will bring!

¹⁶We look on helpless as our crops are destroyed. There is no joy in the Temple of our God.

¹⁷The seeds die in the dry earth. There is no grain to be stored, and so the empty granaries are in ruins.

¹⁸The cattle are bellowing in distress because there is no pasture for them; the flocks of sheep also suffer.

¹⁹I cry out to you, Lord, because the pastures and trees are dried up, as though a fire had burned them.

²⁰Even the wild animals cry out to you because the streams have become dry.

The Locusts as a Warning of the Day of the Lord

¹Blow the trumpet; sound the alarm on Zion, God's sacred hill. Tremble, people of Judah! The day of the Lord is coming soon.

²It will be a dark and gloomy day, a black and cloudy day. The great army of locusts advances like darkness spreading over the mountains. There has never been anything like it, and there never will be again.

³Like fire they eat up the plants. In front of them the land is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them it is a barren desert. Nothing escapes them.

⁴They look like horses; they run like war-horses.

⁵As they leap on the tops of the mountains, they rattle like chariots; they crackle like dry grass on fire. They are lined up like a great army ready for battle.

⁶As they approach, everyone is terrified; every face turns pale.

⁷They attack like warriors; they climb the walls like soldiers. They all keep marching straight ahead and do not change direction

⁸or get in each other's way. They swarm through defenses, and nothing can stop them.

⁹They rush against the city; they run over the walls; they climb up the houses and go in through the windows like thieves.

¹⁰The earth shakes as they advance; the sky trembles. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

¹¹The Lord thunders commands to his army. The troops that obey him are many and mighty. How terrible is the day of the Lord! Who will survive it?

A Call to Repentance

¹²“But even now,” says the Lord, “repent sincerely and return to me with fasting and weeping and mourning.

¹³Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough.” Come back to the Lord your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.

¹⁴Perhaps the Lord your God will change his mind and bless you with abundant crops. Then you can offer him grain and wine.

¹⁵Blow the trumpet on Mount Zion; give orders for a fast and call an assembly!

¹⁶Gather the people together; prepare them for a sacred meeting; bring the old people; gather the children and the babies too. Even newly married couples must leave their homes and come.

¹⁷The priests, serving the Lord between the altar and the entrance of the Temple, must weep and pray: “Have pity on your people, Lord. Do not let other nations despise us and mock us by saying, ‘Where is your God?’”

God Restores Fertility to the Land

¹⁸Then the Lord showed concern for his land; he had mercy on his people.

¹⁹He answered them: “Now I am going to give you grain and wine and olive oil, and you will be satisfied. Other nations will no longer despise you.

²⁰I will remove the locust army that came from the north and will drive some of them into the desert. Their front ranks will be driven into the Dead Sea, their rear ranks into the Mediterranean. Their dead bodies will stink. I will destroy them because of all they have done to you.

²¹“Fields, don't be afraid, but be joyful and glad because of all the Lord has done for you.

²²Animals, don't be afraid. The pastures are green; the trees bear their fruit, and there are plenty of figs and grapes.

²³“Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice at what the Lord your God has done for you. He has given you the right amount of autumn rain; he has poured down the winter rain for you and the spring rain as before.

²⁴The threshing places will be full of grain; the pits beside the presses will overflow with wine and olive oil.

²⁵I will give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops. It was I who sent this army against you.

²⁶Now you will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied. You will praise the Lord your God, who has done wonderful things for you. My people will never be despised again.

²⁷Then, Israel, you will know that I am among you and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. My people will never be despised again.

The Day of the Lord

²⁸“Afterward I will pour out my Spirit on everyone: your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your old people will have dreams, and your young people will see visions.

²⁹At that time I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, both men and women.

³⁰“I will give warnings of that day in the sky and on the earth; there will be bloodshed, fire, and clouds of smoke.

³¹The sun will be darkened, and the moon will turn red as blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

³²But all who ask the Lord for help will be saved. As the Lord has said, ‘Some in Jerusalem will escape; those whom I choose will survive.’”

¹⁷People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not admit that they are wrong are in danger.

¹⁸Anyone who hides hatred is a liar. Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool.

¹⁹The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet.

²⁰A good person's words are like pure silver; a wicked person's ideas are worthless.