The inhabitants of this coastland shall say on that day, “See what has happened to those we hoped in, to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! What escape is there for us now?”
They say to a piece of wood, “You are my father,” and to a stone, “You gave me birth.” They turn their backs to me, not their faces; yet in their time of trouble they cry out, “Rise up and save us!”
Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up! Will they save you in your time of trouble? For as numerous as your cities are your gods, O Judah! And as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up for Baal.
But you, my servant Jacob, do not fear!—oracle of the Lord— do not be dismayed, Israel! For I will soon deliver you from places far away, your offspring from the land of their exile; Jacob shall again find rest, secure, with none to frighten him,
Come, all who pass by the way, pay attention and see: Is there any pain like my pain, which has been ruthlessly inflicted upon me, With which the Lord has tormented me on the day of his blazing wrath?
To what can I compare you—to what can I liken you— O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I give in order to comfort you, virgin daughter Zion? For your breach is vast as the sea; who could heal you?
“At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since the nation began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.
He fulfilled the words he spoke against us and against those who ruled us, by bringing upon us an evil—no evil so great has happened under heaven as happened in Jerusalem.
Listen to this, you elders! Pay attention, all who dwell in the land! Has anything like this ever happened in your lifetime, or in the lifetime of your ancestors?
The Lord raises his voice at the head of his army; How immense is his host! How numerous those who carry out his command! How great is the day of the Lord! Utterly terrifying! Who can survive it?
I hear, and my body trembles; at the sound, my lips quiver. Decay invades my bones, my legs tremble beneath me. I await the day of distress that will come upon the people who attack us.