That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies, a day of vengeance to avenge himself against his adversaries. The sword will devour and be satisfied; it will drink its fill of their blood, because it will be a sacrifice to the Lord, the God of Armies, in the northern land by the River Euphrates.
The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. He swallowed up all its palaces and destroyed its fortified cities. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation within Daughter Judah.
Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol! Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes! Say, ‘Take positions! Prepare yourself, for the sword devours all around you.’
All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer look for you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.
‘When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, “Why has the Lord declared all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity? What is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? ”
Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the Lord has a sword that devours from one end of the earth to the other. No one has peace.