Behold,the LORDlaysthe earthwaste,devastatesit, distortsits surfaceand scattersits inhabitants.
I will stretchoverJerusalemthe lineof Samariaand the plummetof the houseof Ahab,and I will wipeJerusalemas one wipesa dish,wipingit and turningit upsidedown.
"Rememberthe wordwhichYou commandedYour servantMoses,saying,If you are unfaithfulI will scatteryou among the peoples;
The LORDprotectsthe strangers;He supportsthe fatherlessand the widow,But He thwartsthe wayof the wicked.
ThereforeI will make the heavenstremble,And the earthwill be shakenfrom its placeAt the furyof the LORDof hostsIn the dayof His burninganger.
They are comingfrom a farcountry,From the farthesthorizons,The LORDand His instrumentsof indignation,To destroythe wholeland.
[Men] will gointo cavesof the rocksAnd into holesof the groundBeforethe terrorof the LORDAnd the splendorof His majesty,When He arisesto makethe earthtremble.
The earthis brokenasunder,The earthis splitthrough,The earthis shakenviolently.
The earthreelsto and frolike a drunkardAnd it totterslike a shack,For its transgressionis heavyupon it, And it will fall,neverto riseagain.
For the fortifiedcityis isolated,A homesteadforlornand forsakenlike the desert;Therethe calfwill graze,And thereit will liedownand feedon its branches.
You turn[things] around!Shall the potterbe consideredas equal with the clay,That whatis madewould sayto its maker,"He did not makeme"; Or whatis formedsayto him who formedit, "He has nounderstanding"?
I will bringdistressto Ariel,And she will be [a city of] lamentingand mourning;And she will be like an Arielto me.
And everyblowof the rodof punishment,Whichthe LORDwill layon him, Will be with [the music of] tambourinesand lyres;And in battles,brandishingweapons,He will fightthem.
Beatyour breastsfor the pleasantfields,for the fruitfulvine,
The landmourns[and] pinesaway,Lebanonis shamed[and] withers;Sharonis like a desertplain,And Bashanand Carmellose[their foliage].
It will not be quenchednightor day;Its smokewill goup forever.From generationto generationit will be desolate;Nonewill passthrough it foreverand ever.
For the LORD'Sindignationis againstallthe nations,And [His] wrathagainstalltheir armies;He has utterlydestroyedthem, He has giventhem over to slaughter.
"I will laywastethe mountainsand hillsAnd witheralltheir vegetation;I will makethe riversinto coastlandsAnd dryup the ponds.
"I will layit waste;It will not be prunedor hoed,But briarsand thornswill comeup. I will also chargethe cloudsto rainnorainon it."
"A lionhas goneup from his thicket,And a destroyerof nationshas setout; He has goneout from his placeTo makeyour landa waste.Your citieswill be ruinsWithoutinhabitant.
Then Johananthe sonof Kareahspokesecretlyto Gedaliahin Mizpah,saying,"Let me goand killIshmaelthe sonof Nethaniah,and not a manwill know!Whyshould he takeyour life,so that allthe Jewswho are gatheredto you would be scatteredand the remnantof Judahwould perish?"
"Israelis a scatteredflock,the lionshave driven[them] away.The firstone[who] devouredhim was the kingof Assyria,and thislastone[who] has brokenhis bonesis Nebuchadnezzarkingof Babylon.
"Nebuchadnezzarkingof Babylonhas devouredme [and] crushedme, He has setme down[like] an emptyvessel;He has swallowedme like a monster,He has filledhis stomachwith my delicacies;He has washedme away.
"I will scatterthem among the nations,whomneitherthey northeir fathershave known;and I will sendthe swordafterthem untilI have annihilatedthem."
"The inhabitedcitieswill be laidwasteand the landwill be a desolation.So you will knowthat I am the LORD."'"
"Then setit emptyon its coalsSothat it may be hotAnd its bronzemay glowAnd its filthinessmay be meltedin it, Its rustconsumed.
Thussaysthe LordGOD,"As allthe earthrejoices,I will makeyou a desolation.
Moreover, I will makeyou a desolationand a reproachamong the nationswhichsurroundyou, in the sightof allwho passby.
"Onethirdyou shall burnin the fireat the centerof the city,when the daysof the siegeare completed.Then you shall takeonethirdand strike[it] with the swordallaroundthe city, and onethirdyou shall scatterto the wind;and I will unsheathea swordbehindthem.
"So throughout alltheir habitationsI will stretchout My handagainstthem and makethe landmoredesolateand wastethanthe wildernesstoward Diblah;thus they will knowthat I am the LORD."'"
"In allyour dwellings,citieswill becomewasteand the highplaceswill be desolate,that your altarsmay becomewasteand desolate,your idolsmay be brokenand broughtto an end,your incensealtarsmay be cutdown,and your worksmay be blottedout.
The timehas come,the dayhas arrived.Let not the buyerrejoicenorthe sellermourn;for wrathis againstalltheir multitude.
They have blownthe trumpetand madeeverythingready,but nooneis goingto the battle,for My wrathis againstalltheir multitude.
Mountainsquakebecauseof Him And the hillsdissolve;Indeed the earthis upheavedby His presence,The worldand allthe inhabitantsin it.
She is emptied!Yes, she is desolateand waste!Heartsare meltingand kneesknocking!Also anguishis in the wholebodyAnd alltheir facesare grownpale!
and they will fallby the edgeof the sword,and will be led captiveinto allthe nations;and Jerusalemwill be trampled underfoot by the Gentilesuntilthe timesof the Gentilesare fulfilled.
When they did not findthem, they [began] draggingJasonand somebrethrenbeforethe city authorities,shouting,"These menwho have upsetthe worldhave comeherealso;
"Moreover, the LORDwill scatteryou among allpeoples,from one endof the earthto the other endof the earth;and thereyou shall serveothergods,woodand stone,whichyou or your fathershave not known.
I would have said,"I will cutthem to pieces,I will removethe memoryof them from men,"
"The LORDwill scatteryou among the peoples,and you will be leftfewin numberamong the nationswherethe LORDdrivesyou.
James,a bond-servantof Godand of the LordJesusChrist,To the twelvetribeswhoare dispersedabroad: Greetings.
