The Lord Judges the Nations

¹The Lord says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house, then, could you build for me, what kind of place for me to live in?

²I myself created the whole universe! I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me.

³“The people do as they please. It's all the same to them whether they kill a bull as a sacrifice or sacrifice a human being; whether they sacrifice a lamb or break a dog's neck; whether they present a grain offering or offer pigs' blood; whether they offer incense or pray to an idol. They take pleasure in disgusting ways of worship.

⁴So I will bring disaster upon them—the very things they are afraid of—because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil.”

⁵Listen to what the Lord says, you that fear him and obey him: “Because you are faithful to me, some of your own people hate you and will have nothing to do with you. They mock you and say, ‘Let the Lord show his greatness and save you, so that we may see you rejoice.’ But they themselves will be disgraced!

⁶Listen! That loud noise in the city, that sound in the Temple, is the sound of the Lord punishing his enemies!

⁷“My holy city is like a woman who suddenly gives birth to a child without ever going into labor.

⁸Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a day? Zion will not have to suffer long, before the nation is born.

⁹Do not think that I will bring my people to the point of birth and not let them be born.” The Lord has spoken.

¹⁰Rejoice with Jerusalem; be glad for her, all you that love this city! Rejoice with her now, all you that have mourned for her!

¹¹You will enjoy her prosperity, like a child at its mother's breast.

¹²The Lord says, “I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. You will be like a child that is nursed by its mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love.

¹³I will comfort you in Jerusalem, as a mother comforts her child.

¹⁴When you see this happen, you will be glad; it will make you strong and healthy. Then you will know that I, the Lord, help those who obey me, and I show my anger against my enemies.”

¹⁵The Lord will come with fire. He will ride on the wings of a storm to punish those he is angry with.

¹⁶By fire and sword he will punish all the people of the world whom he finds guilty—and many will be put to death.

¹⁷The Lord says, “The end is near for those who purify themselves for pagan worship, who go in procession to sacred gardens, and who eat pork and mice and other disgusting foods.

¹⁸I know their thoughts and their deeds. I am coming to gather the people of all the nations. When they come together, they will see what my power can do

¹⁹and will know that I am the one who punishes them. “But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya, and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.

²⁰They will bring back all your people from the nations as a gift to me. They will bring them to my sacred hill in Jerusalem on horses, mules, and camels, and in chariots and wagons, just as Israelites bring grain offerings to the Temple in ritually clean containers.

²¹I will make some of them priests and Levites.

²²“Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure.

²³On every New Moon Festival and every Sabbath people of every nation will come to worship me here in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.

²⁴“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. The worms that eat them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never be put out. The sight of them will be disgusting to all people.”

Prophecy against Ammon

¹The Lord spoke to me.

²“Mortal man,” he said, “denounce the country of Ammon.

³Tell them to listen to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: You were delighted to see my Temple profaned, to see the land of Israel devastated, to see the people of Judah go into exile.

⁴Because you were glad, I will let the tribes from the eastern desert conquer you. They will set up their camps in your country and settle there. They will eat the fruit and drink the milk that should have been yours.

⁵I will turn the city of Rabbah into a place to keep camels, and the whole country of Ammon will become a place to keep sheep, so that you will know I am the Lord.

⁶“This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: You clapped your hands and jumped for joy. You despised the land of Israel.

⁷Because you did, I will hand you over to other nations who will rob you and plunder you. I will destroy you so completely that you will not be a nation any more or have a country of your own. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy against Moab

⁸The Sovereign Lord said, “Because Moab has said that Judah is like all the other nations,

⁹I will let the cities that defend the border of Moab be attacked, including even the finest cities—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim.

¹⁰I will let the tribes of the eastern desert conquer Moab, together with Ammon, so that Moab will no longer be a nation.

¹¹I will punish Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy against Edom

¹²The Sovereign Lord said, “The people of Edom took cruel revenge on Judah, and that revenge has brought lasting guilt on Edom.

¹³Now I announce that I will punish Edom and kill every person and animal there. I will make it a wasteland, from the city of Teman to the city of Dedan, and the people will be killed in battle.

¹⁴My people Israel will take revenge on Edom for me, and they will make Edom feel my furious anger. Edom will know what it means to be the object of my revenge.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

Prophecy against Philistia

¹⁵The Sovereign Lord said, “The Philistines have taken cruel revenge on their agelong enemies and destroyed them in their hate.

¹⁶And so I am announcing that I will attack the Philistines and wipe them out. I will destroy everyone left living there on the Philistine Plain.

¹⁷I will punish them severely and take full revenge on them. They will feel my anger. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy against Tyre

¹On the first day of the … month of the eleventh year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me.

²“Mortal man,” he said, “this is what the people in the city of Tyre are cheering about. They shout, ‘Jerusalem is shattered! Her commercial power is gone! She won't be our rival any more!’

³“Now then, this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: I am your enemy, city of Tyre. I will bring many nations to attack you, and they will come like the waves of the sea.

⁴They will destroy your city walls and tear down your towers. Then I will sweep away all the dust and leave only a bare rock.

⁵Fishermen will dry their nets on it, there where it stands in the sea. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. The nations will plunder Tyre,

⁶and with their swords they will kill those who live in her towns on the mainland. Then Tyre will know that I am the Lord.”

⁷The Sovereign Lord says, “I am going to bring the greatest king of all—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia—to attack Tyre. He will come from the north with a huge army, with horses and chariots and with cavalry.

⁸Those who live in the towns on the mainland will be killed in the fighting. The enemy will dig trenches, build earthworks, and make a solid wall of shields against you.

⁹They will pound in your walls with battering rams and tear down your towers with iron bars.

¹⁰The clouds of dust raised by their horses will cover you. The noise of their horses pulling wagons and chariots will shake your walls as they pass through the gates of the ruined city.

¹¹Their cavalry will storm through your streets, killing your people with their swords. Your mighty pillars will be thrown to the ground.

¹²Your enemies will help themselves to your wealth and merchandise. They will pull down your walls and shatter your luxurious houses. They will take the stones and wood and all the rubble, and dump them into the sea.

¹³I will put an end to all your songs, and I will silence the music of your harps.

¹⁴I will leave only a bare rock where fishermen can dry their nets. The city will never be rebuilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”

¹⁵The Sovereign Lord has this to say to the city of Tyre: “When you are being conquered, the people who live along the coast will be terrified at the screams of those who are slaughtered.

¹⁶All the kings of the seafaring nations will come down from their thrones. They will take off their robes and their embroidered clothes and sit trembling on the ground. They will be so terrified at your fate that they will not be able to stop trembling.

¹⁷They will sing this funeral song for you: The famous city is destroyed! Her ships have been swept from the seas. The people of this city ruled the seas And terrified all who lived on the coast.

¹⁸Now, on the day it has fallen, The islands are trembling, And their people are shocked at such destruction.”

¹⁹The Sovereign Lord says: “I will make you as desolate as ruined cities where no one lives. I will cover you with the water of the ocean depths.

²⁰I will send you down to the world of the dead to join the people who lived in ancient times. I will make you stay in that underground world among eternal ruins, keeping company with the dead. As a result you will never again be inhabited and take your place in the land of the living.

²¹I will make you a terrifying example, and that will be the end of you. People may look for you, but you will never be found.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

¹Homes are made by the wisdom of women, but are destroyed by foolishness.

²Be honest and you show that you have reverence for the Lord; be dishonest and you show that you do not.

³Proud fools talk too much; the words of the wise protect them.

⁴Without any oxen to pull the plow your barn will be empty, but with them it will be full of grain.