1
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
"Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.
2
Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
3
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent to bite them.
4
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
"I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good."
5
The Lord, the Lord Almighty -
he touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;
6
he builds his lofty palace 1 in the heavens
and sets its foundation 2 on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land -
the Lord is his name.
7
"Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites 3 ?"
declares the Lord.
"Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor 4
and the Arameans from Kir?
8
"Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,"
declares the Lord.
9
"For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10
All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'