Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud, and his chariots come like a tornado. His horses are faster than eagles. How terrible it will be for us! We are ruined!
“We loved Saul and Jonathan and enjoyed them while they lived. They are together even in death. They were faster than eagles. They were stronger than lions.
This army is coming from a faraway land, from the edge of the horizon. In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon to destroy the whole country.
This is a message about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud to enter Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before him, and Egypt’s courage will melt away.
Look, the Lord is coming with fire and his armies with clouds of dust. He will punish those people with his anger; he will punish them with flames of fire.
I hear a cry like a woman having a baby, distress like a woman having her first child. It is the sound of Jerusalem gasping for breath. She lifts her hands in prayer and says, “Oh! I am about to faint before my murderers!”
The King’s name is the Lord All-Powerful. He says, “As surely as I live, a powerful leader will come. He will be like Mount Tabor among the mountains, like Mount Carmel by the sea.
The Lord is like an eagle swooping down and spreading its wings over the city of Bozrah. At that time Edom’s soldiers will become very frightened, like a woman having a baby.
The soldiers carry bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring ocean when they ride their horses. That army is coming lined up for battle, ready to attack you, Jerusalem.”
The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem: ‘We are truly ruined! We are truly ashamed! We must leave our land, because our houses are in ruins.’ ”
His horses will be so many that they will cover you with their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of horsemen, wagons, and chariots. The king of Babylon will enter your city gates as men enter a city where the walls are broken through.
“At the time of the end, the king of the South will fight a battle against the king of the North. The king of the North will attack with chariots, soldiers on horses, and many large ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through their lands like a flood.
“The first animal looked like a lion, but had wings like an eagle. I watched this animal until its wings were torn off. It was lifted from the ground so that it stood up on two feet like a human, and it was given the mind of a human.
“Put the trumpet to your lips and give the warning! The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s people like an eagle. The Israelites have broken my agreement and have turned against my teachings.
At that time people will make fun of you and sing this sad song about you: ‘We are completely ruined; the Lord has taken away my people’s land. Yes, he has taken it away from me and divided our fields among our enemies!’ ”
The Lord does not become angry quickly, and his power is great. The Lord will not let the guilty go unpunished. Where the Lord goes, there are whirlwinds and storms, and the clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
Their horses are faster than leopards and quicker than wolves at sunset. Their horse soldiers attack quickly; they come from places far away. They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
“At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory.
The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the world, and it will swoop down like an eagle. You won’t understand their language,
Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds, and everyone will see him, even those who stabbed him. And all peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of him. Yes, this will happen! Amen.