1:4 “I will attack 1 Judah
and all who live in Jerusalem. 2
I will remove 3 from this place every trace of Baal worship, 4
as well as the very memory 5 of the pagan priests. 6
1:5 I will remove 7 those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, 8
those who swear allegiance to the Lord 9 while taking oaths in the name of 10 their ‘king,’ 11
1:6 and those who turn their backs on 12 the Lord
and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” 13
1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, 14
for the Lord’s day of judgment 15 is almost here. 16
The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; 17
he has ritually purified 18 his guests.
1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,
I will punish the princes 19 and the king’s sons,
and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. 20
1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, 21
who fill the house of their master 22 with wealth taken by violence and deceit. 23
1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,
“a loud cry will go up 24 from the Fish Gate, 25
wailing from the city’s newer district, 26
and a loud crash 27 from the hills.
1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district, 28
for all the merchants 29 will disappear 30
and those who count money 31 will be removed. 32
1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, 33
those who think to themselves, 34
‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ 35
1:13 Their wealth will be stolen
and their houses ruined!
They will not live in the houses they have built,
nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.
1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment 36 is almost here;
it is approaching very rapidly!
There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;
at that time warriors will cry out in battle. 37
1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, 38
a day of distress and hardship,
a day of devastation and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and dark skies,
1:16 a day of trumpet blasts 39 and battle cries. 40
Judgment will fall on 41 the fortified cities and the high corner towers.
1:17 I will bring distress on the people 42
and they will stumble 43 like blind men,
for they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dirt;
their flesh 44 will be scattered 45 like manure.
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole earth 46 will be consumed by his fiery wrath. 47
Indeed, 48 he will bring terrifying destruction 49 on all who live on the earth.” 50