Dual Panel1Bunch yourselves together <07197> <07197> like straw, you undesirable <03700> <03808> nation <01471>,
2before <02962> God’s decree <02706> becomes reality <03205> and the day <03117> of opportunity disappears <05674> like windblown chaff <04671>, before <02962> the Lord’s <03068> raging <02740> anger <0639> overtakes <0935> you– before <02962> the day <03117> of the Lord’s <03068> angry <0639> judgment overtakes <0935> you!
3Seek <01245> the Lord’s <03068> favor, all <03605> you humble <06035> people of the land <0776> who <0834> have obeyed his commands <04941>! Strive <01245> to do <06466> what is right <06664>! Strive <01245> to be humble <06038>! Maybe <0194> you will be protected <05641> on the day <03117> of the Lord’s <03068> angry <0639> judgment.
4Indeed <03588>, Gaza <05804> will be deserted <05800> and Ashkelon <0831> will become <01961> a heap of ruins <08077>. Invaders will drive away <01644> the people of Ashdod <0795> by noon <06672>, and Ekron <06138> will be overthrown <06131>.
5Those who live <03427> by the sea <03220>, the people <01471> who came from Crete <03774>, are as good as dead. The Lord <03068> has decreed your downfall, Canaan <03667>, land <0776> of the Philistines <06430>: “I will destroy <06> everyone who lives <03427> there!”
6The seacoast <03220> will be <01961> used as pasture <05116> lands <03741> by the shepherds <07462> and as pens <01448> for their flocks <06629>.
7Those who are left <07611> from the kingdom <01004> of Judah <03063> will take possession of it. By the sea <02256> they will graze <07462>, in the houses <01004> of Ashkelon <0831> they will lie down <07257> in the evening <06153>, for <03588> the Lord <03068> their God <0430> will intervene <06485> for them and restore <07725> their prosperity <07622>.
8“I have heard <08085> Moab’s <04124> taunts <02781> and the Ammonites <05983> <01121>’ insults <01421>. They taunted <02778> my people <05971> and verbally harassed <01431> those living in <05921> Judah <01366>.
9Therefore <03651>, as surely as I <0589> live <02416>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068> who commands armies <06635>, the God <0430> of Israel <03478>, “be certain that <03588> Moab <04124> will become <01961> like Sodom <05467> and the Ammonites <05983> <01121> like Gomorrah <06017>. They will be overrun <04476> by weeds <02738>, filled with salt <04417> pits <0953>, and permanently <05769> <05704> desolate <08077>. Those of my people <05971> who are left <07611> will plunder <0962> their belongings; those who are left <03499> in Judah <01471> will take possession <05157> of their land.”
10This <02063> is how they <01992> will be repaid <08478> for their arrogance <01347>, for <03588> they taunted <02778> and verbally harassed <01431> the people <05971> of the Lord <03069> who commands armies <06635>.
11The Lord <03068> will terrify <03372> them, for <03588> he will weaken <07329> all <03605> the gods <0430> of the earth <0776>. All <03605> the distant nations <01471> will worship <07812> the Lord in their own lands <04725>.
12“You <0859> Ethiopians <03569> will also <01571> die <02491> by my sword <02719>!”
13The Lord will attack <05186> the north <06828> and destroy <06> Assyria <0804>. He will make <07760> Nineveh <05210> a heap of ruins <08077>; it will be as barren <06723> as the desert <04057>.
14Flocks and herds <05739> will lie down <07257> in the middle <08432> of it, as well as <01571> every kind <03605> of wild animal <02416>. Owls <06893> will sleep <03885> in the tops of <03730> its support pillars <03730>; they will hoot <07891> <06963> through the windows <02474>. Rubble <02721> will cover the thresholds <05592>; even <03588> the cedar work <0731> will be exposed <06168> to the elements.
15This <02063> is how the once-proud <05947> city <05892> will end up– the city that was so secure <0983>. She thought <03824> <0559> to herself, “I <0589> am unique! No one <0657> can compare <05750> to me!” What <0349> a heap of ruins <08047> she has become <01961>, a place <04769> where wild animals <02416> live! Everyone <03605> who passes <05674> by <05921> her taunts <08319> her and shakes <05128> his fist <03027>.