The Almighty Lord of Armies has chosen a special day. It will be a day of confusion and trampling in the valley of Vision, ⌞a day of⌟ tearing down walls and crying for help in the mountains.
They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it.
The messengers hurried out as the king told them. The decree was also issued at the fortress of Susa. So the king and Haman sat down to drink a toast, but the city of Susa was in turmoil.
I send them against a godless nation. In my fury I order them against the people to take their belongings, loot them, and trample on them like mud in the streets.
They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it.
Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled.
“I have trampled alone in the winepress. No one was with me. In my anger I trampled on people. In my wrath I stomped on them. Their blood splattered my clothes so all my clothing has been stained.
How terrible that day will be! There will be no other day like it. It will be a time of calamity for the descendants of Jacob, but they will be rescued from it.
Its opponents are now in control. Its enemies have no worries. The Lord made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts. Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity.
The Lord swallowed up all of Jacob’s pastures without any pity. He tore down the fortified cities of Judah in his fury. He brought the kingdom ⌞of Judah⌟ and its leaders down to the ground in dishonor.
The Lord planned to destroy the wall of Zion’s people. He marked it off with a line. He didn’t take his hand away until he had swallowed it up. He made the towers and walls mourn. They are completely dejected.
Destruction is coming to you, inhabitants of the land. The time is coming. The day is near. There will be confusion. There will be no joy in the mountains.
The illegal worship sites of Aven will be destroyed. Israel sins there. Thorns and weeds will grow over those altars. People will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
The best of them is like a briar. The most decent person is sharper than thornbushes. The day you thought you would be punished has come. Now is the time you will be confused.
That day will be a day of overflowing fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and overcast skies,