“Sound the alarm on the ram’s horn. The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s temple like an eagle. The people of Israel have rejected my promise and rebelled against my teachings.
But the field commander asked them, “Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Didn’t he send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you?”
It will not be like the promise that I made to their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. They rejected that promise, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
I will hand over the people who have rejected my promise. They have not kept the terms of the promise which they made in my presence when they cut a calf in two and passed between its pieces.
The enemy comes up like clouds. His chariots are like a raging wind. His horses are faster than eagles. How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!
Report this message in Judah. Make it heard in Jerusalem. Say, “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.” Shout loudly and say, “Gather together! Let’s go into the fortified cities.”
Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram’s horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts.
“Take cover, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa. Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem, because disaster and widespread destruction are coming from the north.
Say, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: A large eagle came to Lebanon. It had large wings with long, colorful feathers. It took hold of the top of a cedar tree.
I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.
“All Ephraim’s wickedness began in Gilgal; I hated the people there. I will force them out of my temple because of their wickedness, and I won’t love them anymore. All their officials are rebellious.
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion. Sound the alarm on my holy mountain. Everyone who lives in the land should tremble, because the day of the Lord is coming. Certainly, it is near.
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake. Cut off everyone’s head. I will kill with a sword all who are left. None of them will be able to get away. None of them will be able to escape.
Their horses will be faster than leopards and quicker than wolves in the evening. Their riders will gallop along proudly. Their riders will come from far away. They will fly like an eagle that swoops down for its prey.
The Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning. The Almighty Lord will blow the ram’s horn and will march in the storms from the south.
It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever.
The Lord will bring against you a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth. The nation will swoop down on you like an eagle. It will be a nation whose language you won’t understand.