The Hour of Doom

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3The end is now upon you, and I will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations. 4I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

5This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Disaster! An unprecedented disaster behold, it is coming! 6The end has come! The end has come! It has roused itself against you. Behold, it has come! 7Doom has come to you, O inhabitants of the land. The time has come; the day is near; there is panic on the mountains instead of shouts of joy. 8 Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations. 9I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.

10Behold, the day is here! It has come! Doom has gone out, the rod has budded, arrogance has bloomed. 11Their violence has grown into a rod to punish their wickedness. None of them will remain: none of their multitude, none of their wealth, and nothing of value. 12The time has come; the day has arrived. Let the buyer not rejoice and the seller not mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude. 13The seller will surely not recover what he sold while both remain alive. For the vision concerning the whole multitude will not be revoked, and because of their iniquity, not one of them will preserve his life.

The Desolation of Israel

14They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one goes to war, for My wrath is upon the whole multitude. 15The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague. 16The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity. 17Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water. 18They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved. 19They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

20His beautiful ornaments they transformed into pride and used them to fashion their vile images and detestable idols. Therefore I will make these into something unclean for them. 21And I will hand these things over as plunder to foreigners and loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile them. 22I will turn My face away from them, and they will defile My treasured place. Violent men will enter it, and they will defile it.

23Forge the chain, for the land is full of crimes of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence. 24So I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will end the pride of the mighty, and their holy places will be profaned. 25Anguish is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 26Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders. 27The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ ”