Bible in 90 Days
David’s Sukkah Restored
11 “In that day I will raise up David’s fallen sukkah.[a]
I will restore its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in days of old
12 —so they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations called by My Name.”
It is a declaration of Adonai, the One who will do this.
13 “Behold, days are soon coming”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“when the plowman will overtake the reaper
and the one treading grapes, the one sowing seed.
The mountains will drip sweet wine
and all the hills will melt over.
14 Yes, I will restore the captivity of My people Israel.
They will rebuild desolated cities and dwell in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine.
They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 Yes, I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be plucked up
out of their land that I have given to them.”
Adonai, your God, has said it.
Edom’s Arrogance and Ruin
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says Adonai Elohim concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from Adonai—
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
“Arise and let us rise up against her in battle.”
2 Behold, I will make you least among the nations,
you will be greatly despised.
3 The arrogance of your heart has deceived you—
living in the clefts of the rock—
his dwelling place is lofty, saying in his heart:
‘Who shall bring me down to the earth?’
4 Even if you soar like the eagle,
and even if you set your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down.’”
declares Adonai.
5 “If thieves came to you,
if robbers by night—
how ruined you would be!—
would they keep stealing after they had enough?
If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave some gleaning?
6 How Esau will be ransacked,
and how his hidden treasures searched out!
7 All your allies will force you to the border.
The men that are at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you.
Those who eat your bread will set a trap under you.
(He has no discernment.)
8 In that day,”—declares Adonai—
“will I not destroy the wise men from Edom
and understanding from the hill country of Esau?
9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be shattered
—so everyone will be cut off from the hill country of Esau by slaughter.
10 “Because of your violence to your brother Jacob,
shame will cover you,
and you will be cut off forever.
11 On the day that you stood aloof—
on the day that strangers carried away his wealth,
while foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem—
you were just like one of them.
12 You should not look down on your brother
on the day of his disaster,
nor should you rejoice over the children of Judah
in the day of their destruction.
You should not speak proudly
in the day of their distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of My people
In the day of their disaster.
Yes, you. Do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster.
Yes, you—do not loot their wealth
in the day of their calamity.
14 Do not stand at the crossroad to cut down his fugitives,
and do not imprison his survivors in the day of distress.
The House of Jacob will be a Fire
15 “For the day of Adonai is near against all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you.
Your dealing will return on your own head.
16 For just as you have drunk on My holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually.
Yes, they will drink and gulp down,
and then be as though they had never existed.
17 But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance,
and it will be holy.
Then house of Jacob will dispossess
those who dispossessed them.
18 The house of Jacob will be a fire,
and the house of Joseph flame,
while the house of Esau will be straw—
they will set them on fire and consume them.
So there will be no survivors of the house of Esau.”
—for Adonai has spoken.
19 Then those of the Negev[b]
will possess the hill country of Esau,
and those of the foothills the Philistines.
Then they will possess the territory of Ephraim
and the territory of Samaria,
while Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this army of Bnei-Yisrael
will possess what belonged to the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, while the exiles of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad,
will possess the cities of the Negev.
21 The victorious will go up on Mount Zion
to judge the hill country of Esau.
Then the kingdom shall be Adonai’s.
Jonah Runs From His Mission
1 Now the word of Adonai came to Jonah,[c] son of Amittai, saying: 2 “Rise, go to the great city Nineveh and call out to her, for their evil has risen before me.”
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish, from the presence of Adonai. He went down to Jaffa and found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fee and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish—away from the presence of Adonai.
4 Then Adonai hurled a forceful wind into the sea and there was such a mighty storm on the sea that the ship was about to shatter. 5 So the sailors were afraid and cried out, each man to his own god. Then they cast the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest part of the ship, to lay down and fell fast asleep.
6 So the chief sailor came near to him and said to him, “What, are you sleeping? Get up! Call out to your god. Perhaps the gods will consider us, so we will not perish!”
7 Then each man said to his companion, “Come, let’s cast lots—so we may know because of whom this evil is happening to us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.[d]
8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account is this evil happening to us? What is your profession and where did you come from? What is your land and from what nation are you?”
9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew and I fear Adonai God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men became afraid with an overwhelming fear and they said to him, “What have you done?” For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of Adonai, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you so the sea will become calm for us?”—for the storm was raging on.
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he said to them, “then the sea will become calm for you. For I know it is because of me that this great storm is upon you.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to the land, but they could not, because the sea kept raging against them. 14 So they cried to Adonai and said, “Please, Adonai, don’t let us perish on account of the soul of this man and don’t put innocent blood on us. For you, Adonai, have done as you pleased.”
15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea—and the sea stilled from its raging. 16 Then the men became afraid with an overwhelming fear of Adonai, and they offered a sacrifice to Adonai and made vows.
2 Now Adonai prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.[e][f]
Jonah’s Prayer of Distress
2 Then Jonah prayed to Adonai his God from the belly of the fish, 3 saying:
“From my distress I cried to Adonai
and He answered me.
From the belly of Sheol I cried for help
and you heard my voice.[g]
4 For you hurled me from the deep
into the heart of the seas,
and currents swirled around me.
All your waves and your breakers
swept over me.”
5 And I said, “I have been banished
from before your eyes.
Yet I will continue to look
toward your holy Temple.”
6 Waters surrounded me up to my soul.
The deep sea engulfed me—
reeds clung to my head.
7 To the bottoms of the mountains I went down.
The earth with her bars was around me, forever!
Yet You brought my life up from the Pit,
Adonai my God.
8 As my soul was fading from me,
I remembered Adonai
and my prayer came to You,
toward Your holy Temple.
9 Those who watch worthless empty things
forsake their mercy.
10 But I, with a voice of thanks
will sacrifice to you.
What I vowed, I will pay.
Salvation is from Adonai.”
11 Then Adonai spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.
Nineveh Repents
3 Now the word of Adonai came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out to it the proclamation that I am telling you.”
3 So Jonah rose and went to Nineveh according to the word of Adonai. Now Nineveh was a great city to God—the length of a three day journey. 4 So Jonah began to come into the city for one day’s journey, and he cried out saying: “Another forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown!”
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed God and called for a fast and wore sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, covered himself in sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. 7 He made a proclamation saying:
“In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, no man or beast, herd or flock, may taste anything. They must not graze nor drink water. 8 But cover man and beast with sackcloth. Let them cry out to God with urgency. Let each one turn from his evil way and from the violence in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent, and turn back from his burning anger, so that we may not perish.”
10 When God saw their deeds—that they turned from their wicked ways—God relented from the calamity that He said He would do to them, and did not do it.
Jonah’s Displeasure at God’s Mercy
4 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he resented it. 2 So he prayed to Adonai and said, “Please, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my own country? That’s what I anticipated, fleeing to Tarshish—for I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and full of kindness, and relenting over calamity. 3 So please, Adonai, take my soul from me—because better is my death than my life.”
4 Yet Adonai said, “Is it good for you to be so angry?”
5 So Jonah went out from the city and sat east of the city. There He made a sukkah and he sat under it, in the shade, until he saw what would happen in the city. 6 Then Adonai God prepared a plant and it grew up over Jonah, to give shade over his head to spare him from his discomfort. So Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But God at dawn the next day prepared a worm that crippled the plant and it withered away. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. So he implored that his soul would die, saying, “My death would be better than my life!”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it good for you to be so angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said, “I am angry enough to die!”
10 But Adonai said, “You have pity on the plant for which you did no labor or make it grow, that appeared overnight and perished overnight. So shouldn’t I have pity on Nineveh—the great city that has in it more than 120,000 people who don’t know their right hand from their left—as well as many animals?”
1 The word of Adonai that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—visions he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Smashing Idols in the High Places
2 Hear, O peoples—all of you!
Attention, O land and everything in it!
Adonai Elohim will be witness against you—
The Lord from His holy Temple.
3 For behold, Adonai is coming forth out of His place.
He will come down and trample on the high places of the land.
4 The mountains will melt away under Him
and the valleys will split apart
like wax before the fire,
like water being poured down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression
and the sins of the house of Israel.
Who is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
Who are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria into a ruin in the countryside,
planting places for a vineyard.
I will hurl her stones into the valley
and will lay bare her foundations.
7 All her images will be smashed,
all her prostitute’s pay burned with fire,
and all her idols I will make desolate.
For from prostitute’s pay she collected them
and to prostitute’s pay they will return.
8 Concerning this let me lament and howl.
Let me walk barefoot and naked.
I will make a howl like jackals
and a mourning like ostriches.
9 For her wounds are incurable.
For it has come up to Judah.
It has reached the gate of my people—
even up to Jerusalem!
10 Tell it not in Gath—weep not at all.
At Beth-le-aphrah[h] roll in the dust.
11 Pass on, you who dwell in Saphir
—nakedness and shame—
she who dwells in Zaanan
will not come out.
Wailing of Beth-ezel[i]:
He will take from you its standing-place.
12 For she who dwells in Maroth has languished for something good.
For calamity has come down
from Adonai to Jerusalem’s gate.
13 Harness the chariot to the steed,
O inhabitant of Lachish!
It was the beginning of sin
for the Daughter of Zion—
because in you were found
the rebellions of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath—
houses of Achzib as a deception to the kings of Israel.
15 Yet I will bring the possessor to you,
inhabitant of Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will come
as far as Adullam.
16 Shave yourself bald,
yes shear your hair for the children of your delight.
Enlarge your bald spot like a vulture,
for they went from you into exile.
Covetous Schemers
2 Oy to them who scheme wickedness,
who work out evil upon their beds!
In the light of the morning, they do it,
for the power is in their hands.
2 They covet fields, so they seize them,
or houses, and take them away.
So they oppress a man and his house—
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore, thus said Adonai:
“Behold, I am scheming a calamity against this family
from which you cannot remove your necks.
Then you will not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of distress.”
4 In that day He will lift up a parable for you,
and there will be wailing lamentation,
saying: “We have been utterly ruined!
He changes the portion of my people.
How He removes it from me!
To the faithless He apportions our fields!”
5 Therefore you will have no one casting for territory
by lot in the congregation of Adonai.
6 “Do not prophesy,” they prophesy.
Unless they prophesy about such things,
He will not turn back reproaches.”
7 Is it said, “O house of Jacob,
is the Ruach Adonai short of patience?
Are these His deeds?”
“Do not My words deal well
with one who walks uprightly?”
8 But recently My people arose as an enemy.
You strip off the outer robe of a garment
from those passing through confidently—
those returning from war.
9 The wives of My people you cast out
from their exquisite houses.
From her young children
you take away My splendor, forever.
10 Arise and go!
For this is not the resting place,
because of uncleanness that destroys—
a grievous destruction.
11 If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood speaks lies—
“I will prophesy for you of wine and strong drink”—
Then he would be a spokesman of this people.
12 “I will surely gather Jacob—all of you!
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock within its pasture.
They will be noisy with people.
13 One breaking through will go up before them.[j]
They will break through,
pass through the gate and go out by it.[k]
Their King will pass through before them
—Adonai at their head!”
Unjust Leaders, False Prophets
3 Then I said:
“Hear, leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel.
Is it not for you to know justice?
2 You haters of good and lovers of evil,
you are robbing their skin from them
and their flesh from their bones.”
3 Now that they have eaten the flesh of my people,
stripped their skin off from them,
and smashed their bones to bits,
they cut it up like flesh in a pot,
or like meat within a caldron.
4 Then they will cry out to Adonai,
but He will not answer them.
Thus He will hide His face from them at that time,
because of their evil deeds.
5 Thus said Adonai about the prophets
who are misleading My people,
those who bite with their teeth and cry “Shalom”
—a word that He did not put in their mouth—
yet they consecrate war against him:
6 “Therefore you will have night without vision,
and darkness without divination.
The sun shall set on the prophets,
the day shall become dark upon them.”
7 So the seers will be ashamed
and the diviners will be abashed.
Indeed all of them will cover their lips,
for there will be no answer from God.
8 Nevertheless I myself am filled with power—
with the Ruach Adonai—
with judgment, and with might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, leaders of the house of Jacob,
rulers of the house of Israel:
You who abhor justice,
and twist everything upright,
10 who build up Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders give judgment for a bribe.
Her priests give direction for a price.
Her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean on Adonai by saying:
“Is not Adonai in our midst?
No calamity will come upon us!”
12 Therefore, because of you
Zion will become a plowed field.
Yes, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount will become a high place in a forest.
Torah Will Go Forth From Zion
4 But at the end of days
the mountain of Adonai’s House will be established as chief of the mountains,
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will flow up to it.
2 Then many nations will go and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of Adonai,
to the House of the God of Jacob!
Then He will direct us in His ways,
and we will walk in His paths.”
For Torah will go forth from Zion,
and the word of Adonai from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and decide for mighty nations far off.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning shears.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
nor will they learn war again.
4 But each man will sit under his vine
and under his fig tree,
with no one causing terror,
for the mouth of Adonai-Tzva’ot has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples will walk
each in the name of his god,
so we ourselves will walk[l] in the Name of Adonai Eloheinu,
forever and ever.
6 “In that day”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“I will gather her who is limping,
and her who was banished will I collect,
even those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will make her who was limping into a remnant,
and her who was banished a mighty nation.
Adonai will reign over them on Mount Zion
from that time and forever.”
8 But you, watchtower of the flock,
are the hill of the Daughter of Zion.
To you she will come.
Even the former dominion will come,
the kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Why are you crying out aloud now?
Is there no King within you?
Has your counselor perished,
so that agony has gripped you like birth pangs?
10 Writhe and give birth, Daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor.
For now you will go forth from a city.
You will dwell in the field,
and you will come as far as Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
There will Adonai redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations
have assembled against you,
those who are saying, “Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze on Zion.”
12 But they do not know Adonai’s thoughts,
nor understand His plan.
For He has gathered them
like grain to a threshing floor.
13 Arise and tread, Daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
and I will make your hooves bronze.
You will thresh many peoples.
I will devote their unjust gain to Adonai,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
14 Now gather yourself in troops,[m] O Daughter of Troops.
He has laid siege against us.
With a staff they have struck
the Judge of Israel on the cheek.
Eternal Ruler from Bethlehem
5 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah[n]—
least among the clans of Judah—
from you will come out to Me
One to be ruler in Israel,
One whose goings forth are from of old,
from days of eternity.
2 Therefore He will give them up
until the time when she who is in labor has given birth.
Then the remnant of His brothers
will return to Bnei-Yisrael.
3 So He will arise and tend His flock
with the strength of Adonai—
in the majesty of the Name of Adonai His God.
And they will live securely,
for then He will be great to the ends of the earth.
4 This One will be shalom.[o]
When Assyria invades our land
when he treads on our citadels,
then we will raise up against him seven shepherds
and eight human princes.
5 They will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword—
even Nimrod’s land with a drawn blade.[p]
He will deliver us from Assyria,
when he invades our land,
when he tramples on our territory.
The Remnant of Jacob
6 Now the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples,
like dew from Adonai,
like abundant showers on grass
that does not wait for a man,
nor lingers for the sons of men.
7 For the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the forest beasts,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
who, if he passed through, would trample and tear to pieces,
and there would be no deliverer.
8 May your hand be raised up against your adversaries,
and may all your foes be cut off.
9 “Now in that day”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“I will cut off your horses among you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
10 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and throw down all your strongholds.
11 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you will have no more diviners.
12 I will cut off your carved images
and your sacred pillars from among you,
so you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
13 I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you,
and destroy your cities.
14 So I will execute vengeance in anger
and wrath on the nations that have not listened.
Adonai Pleads His Case
6 Hear what Adonai is saying:
“Arise! Contend with the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, Adonai’s dispute, O mountains—
the enduring foundations of the earth.
For Adonai has a dispute with His people
and He will argue His case with Israel.
3 O My people, what have I done to you?
Or how have I wearied you? Answer Me!
4 When I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, remember, please:
What did Balak, king of Moab, propose?
What did Balaam son of Beor answer him?
From Shittim as far as Gilgal,
so that you might acknowledge
the righteous acts of Adonai.”
What Is Adonai Seeking From You?
6 With what shall I come before Adonai?
With what shall I bow myself before God on high?
Shall I present Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7 Will Adonai be pleased with thousands of rams,
with hordes of rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, humanity, what is good,
and what Adonai is seeking from you:
Only to practice justice, to love mercy,[q]
and to walk humbly with your God.
9 The voice of Adonai calls to the city—
it is wisdom to fear[r] Your Name—
“Pay attention to the rod and to the One who appointed it.”
10 Does the house of the wicked
still have treasures of wickedness?
Or is an undersized ephah denounced?
11 Can I be pure with wicked balances?
Or with a bag of deceptive weights?
12 For the rich of the city are full of violence
and its inhabitants speak lies.
Their tongue in their mouth is deceit.
13 So also I will strike you severely,
desolating you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied,
and emptiness will be within you.
You will try to escape,
but you will not reach safety.
Whatever you make safe,
I will give to the sword.
15 You will sow but not reap;
You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil,
and grapes but not drink wine.
16 Now, you observe the statutes of Omri
and every practice of the house of Ahab,
and you walk in their counsels.
Therefore I will make you a horror,
and her inhabitants a hissing,
so you will bear the scorn of My people.
None Upright Among Mankind
7 Woe is me! For I am like gatherings of produce in summer,
like gleanings of a vineyard.
There is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that I crave.
2 The pious have perished from the land,
there is none upright among mankind.
All of them lie in wait for blood.
A man hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are diligent at doing evil.
The official and the judge ask for a bribe.
The distinguished man utters a desire of his soul.
Thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a prickly bush,
the most upright like a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen—of your visitation—is coming.
Then their confusion will occur.
5 Do not trust in a friend.
Do not trust in a close companion.
Guard the openings of your mouth
from her who lies on your breast.
6 For son treats father with contempt;
daughter rises up against mother;
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law:
a man’s enemies are the people of his own house.[s]
Zion’s Vindication
7 But I—I will watch for Adonai.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.
Though I have fallen—I will arise.
Though I sit in darkness, Adonai is my light.
9 I will bear the indignation of Adonai,
because I have sinned against Him,
until He pleads my cause,
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light,
and I will behold His righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her—
she who said to me:
“Where is Adonai, your God?”
My eyes will gaze at her—
now she will be trampled
like mud in streets.
11 A day to rebuild your walls—
a day the boundary will be far off,
12 a day when they will come to you
from Assyria to the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land will become a wasteland because of her inhabitants,
because of the fruit of their misdeeds.
14 Tend Your people with Your staff,
the flock of Your inheritance,
dwelling alone, in a forest
in the midst of a fertile garden.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days of your coming out from the land of Egypt
I will show him wonders.
16 Nations will see and be put to shame
despite all their might.
They will put a hand on their mouth,
their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake.
Like crawling things of the land,
they will come trembling out of their hiding places.
To Adonai Eloheinu they will submit in awe—
in awe of You.
He Will Again Have Compassion
18 Who is a God like You
pardoning iniquity, overlooking transgression,
for the remnant of His heritage?
He will not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us.
He will subdue our iniquities,
and You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will extend truth to Jacob,
mercy to Abraham,
that You swore to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Judgment of Nineveh
1 The oracle[t] concerning Nineveh—the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 A jealous and avenging God is Adonai.
Yes, Adonai is the avenger and master of wrath.
Adonai is avenger to His adversaries,
Yes, a keeper of wrath for His foes.
3 Adonai is slow to anger and great in power,
but He will by no means acquit the guilty.
Adonai’s way is with a whirlwind or with a storm wind,
Clouds are the dust of His feet.
4 Rebuking the sea, He made it dry,
as He has dried up all the rivers.
Bashan and Carmel languished,
Yes, Lebanon’s budding languished.
5 Mountains quaked because of Him,
and the hills have melted.
The earth has heaved up at His presence—
yes, the world and everything dwelling in it.
6 Before His indignation who can stand?
Who can withstand His burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and cliffs break down before Him.
7 Adonai is good as
a refuge in the day of distress,
and He knows those
who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an overwhelming flood,
He will make that place a total ruin.
Darkness will pursue His enemies.
9 What can you scheme against Adonai?
He will make a complete destruction.
Distress will not arise twice.
10 For even like tangled thorns they will be consumed,
or like drunkards who are drunk,
or like stubble that is fully dry.
11 Out of you has come a schemer of evil against Adonai,
a counselor of Belial.[u]
12 Thus said Adonai:
Though they are strong and numerous,
even so they will be mowed down
and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13 I will now break his yoke from you,
and tear apart your bonds.
14 Adonai has issued a command against you:
no more will your name be spread.
From the house of your gods
I will cut off the idol and metal image.
I will prepare your grave—
for you have become worthless.
2 Behold, upon the mountains
are the feet[v] of him bringing good news,[w]
proclaiming shalom.
O Judah, celebrate your festivals!
Fulfill your vows!
For never again will Belial pass through you.
He has been utterly cut off.
Devastation of Nineveh
2 A shatterer has come up against you.
Guard the rampart! Watch the way!
Chazak! Be very courageous!
3 For Adonai turned aside Jacob’s pride
like Israel’s pride—
for spoilers emptied them out
and ruined their vine branches.
4 He makes the shield of warriors’ red—
valiant men are clad in scarlet!
the chariot burns with metal fire
on the day of his preparation,
The fir trees are shaken.
5 The chariots dash madly about through the streets,
rushing to and fro in the plazas,
their appearance is like torches,
darting like flashes of lightning.
6 He will recall his majestic ones.
They will stumble in their march.
They will hasten to her wall.
Now the siege work is set up.
7 The river gates will be opened,
and the palace will melt away.
8 What was erected[x]
will be exiled and carried away.
Her handmaids are lamenting like the sound of doves,
beating their breasts.
9 Nineveh was like a pool of water for days
—now they are fleeing.
Stop, stop! Yet no one turns back.
10 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!
For there is no end of treasure—
glory from everything precious.
11 Emptiness, desolation, waste!
Heart melting, knees buckling, anguish in all the loins,
all their faces grown pale!
12 Where is the lions’ den,
the feeding place for young lions—
where the lion went for a lion’s cub—
with nothing to disturb them?
13 The lion rips enough for his cubs,
strangles prey for his lionesses.
Yes, he fills his den with prey,
his lair with torn flesh.
14 “Here I am against you”
—it is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot—
“I will burn up her chariots in smoke.
A sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut them off from the land of your prey,
and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
City of Corpses
3 Oy, bloody city!
Full of deceit, full of plunder.
The prey never departs.
2 Crack of whip,
rattling of wheels,
horse galloping,
chariot jolting,
3 horseman climbing up,
blade of sword and flash of spear,
many slain, a mass of corpses
—no end to the corpses—
they stumble over their corpses!
The Harlot Humiliated
4 Because of the many fornications of the elegant prostitute,
the mistress of sorceries,
who sells nations by her fornications,
and clans through her sorceries—
5 Behold, I am against you
—it is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot—
I will lift your skirts over your face,
I will show nations your nakedness
and kingdoms your disgrace.
6 Yes, I will fling filth on you.
I will treat you with contempt
and set you up as a spectacle.
7 So it will be that all who see you
will recoil from you and say,
“Nineveh has been ravaged!
Who will lament for her?”
Where will I find comforters for you?
8 Are you better than No-amon[y],
situated among channels of the Nile,
water surrounding her,
whose fortress and wall was water?[z]
9 Cush and Egypt were her might—unlimited.
Put and Libya were her allies.
10 Yet she went off to exile among the captives.
Even her babes were dashed to pieces
at the head of all streets.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,
and all her great men were bound with chains.
11 You too will become drunk.
You will hide yourself.
You too will seek refuge from an enemy.
12 All your fortifications will be fig trees with firstfruits—
when shaken, they will fall, into an eater’s mouth.
13 See, your people within you are women[aa].
The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies—
fire has devoured your gate-bars.
14 Draw water for a siege.
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the mud and tread mortar.
Take hold of the brick mold.
15 There fire will devour you.
Sword will cut you off,
devouring you like the locust.
Multiply like the locust.
Multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have multiplied your traders
more than the stars of heaven.
Locusts have stripped and flown off.
17 Your princes are like locusts,
your officials like a locust swarm,
camping in the walls on a chilly day.
The sun rises, and they are chased away,
and where they are is unknown.
18 Your shepherds have become drowsy,
king of Assyria, your nobles lie down.
Your people are scattered on the hills,
with no one to gather them.
19 There is no cure for your brokenness,
your wound is severe.
All who hear the report about you,
clap hands over you.
For over whom has not passed
your constant cruelty?
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.