9:1 I saw the sovereign One 1 standing by the altar 2 and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, 3 so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people, 4
and I will kill the survivors 5 with the sword.
No one will be able to run away; 6
no one will be able to escape. 7
9:2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, 8
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.
9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from me 9 at the bottom of the sea,
from there 10 I would command the Sea Serpent 11 to bite them.
9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, 12
from there 13 I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” 14
9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. 15
He touches the earth and it dissolves; 16
all who live on it mourn.
The whole earth 17 rises like the River Nile, 18
and then grows calm 19 like the Nile in Egypt. 20
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 21 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 22 on the earth. 23
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.