The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,

you who mock,

you rulers of these people

who reside in Jerusalem!

15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol we have made an agreement.

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”

16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying a stone in Zion,

an approved stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.

The one who maintains his faith will not panic.

17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge,

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved;

your agreement with Sheol will not last.

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by,

you will be overrun by it.

19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;

indeed, every morning it will sweep by,

it will come through during the day and the night.”

When this announcement is understood,

it will cause nothing but terror.

20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself.

21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim,

he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon,

to accomplish his work,

his peculiar work,

to perform his task,

his strange task.

22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land.

23 Pay attention and listen to my message!

Be attentive and listen to what I have to say!

24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time?

Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?

25 Once he has leveled its surface,

does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,

sow the seed of the cumin plant,

and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places?

26 His God instructs him;

he teaches him the principles of agriculture.

27 Certainly caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,

nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed.

Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,

and cumin seed with a flail.

28 Grain is crushed,

though one certainly does not thresh it forever.

The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,

but his horses do not crush it.

29 This also comes from the Lord who commands armies,

who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

29 Ariel is as good as dead –

Ariel, the town David besieged!

Keep observing your annual rituals,

celebrate your festivals on schedule.

2 I will threaten Ariel,

and she will mourn intensely

and become like an altar hearth before me.

3 I will lay siege to you on all sides;

I will besiege you with troops;

I will raise siege works against you.

4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard.

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld;

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.

5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,

the horde of tyrants like chaff that is blown away.

It will happen suddenly, in a flash.

6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies,

accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,

by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.

There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,

those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.

8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty.

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched.

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.