1 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
    and those who issue unfair laws.
² They deprive the poor of justice
    and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
    and take advantage of orphans.
³ What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?
⁴ You will stumble along as prisoners
    or lie among the dead.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

“By my own powerful arm I have done this.
    With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it.
I have broken down the defenses of nations
    and carried off their treasures.
    I have knocked down their kings like a bull.
¹⁴ I have robbed their nests of riches
    and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs.
No one can even flap a wing against me
    or utter a peep of protest.”

¹⁵ But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?
    Is the saw greater than the person who saws?
Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?
    Can a wooden cane walk by itself?
¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops,
    and a flaming fire will consume its glory.
¹⁷ The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire;
    the Holy One will be a flame.
He will devour the thorns and briers with fire,
    burning up the enemy in a single night.
¹⁸ The Lord will consume Assyria’s glory
    like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land;
    it will waste away like sick people in a plague.
¹⁹ Of all that glorious forest, only a few trees will survive—
    so few that a child could count them!

²⁷ In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people.
    He will break the yoke of slavery
    and lift it from their shoulders.^[c]

²⁸ Look, the Assyrians are now at Aiath.
    They are passing through Migron
    and are storing their equipment at Micmash.
²⁹ They are crossing the pass
    and are camping at Geba.
Fear strikes the town of Ramah.
    All the people of Gibeah, the hometown of Saul,
    are running for their lives.
³⁰ Scream in terror,
    you people of Gallim!
Shout out a warning to Laishah.
    Oh, poor Anathoth!
³¹ There go the people of Madmenah, all fleeing.
    The citizens of Gebim are trying to hide.
³² The enemy stops at Nob for the rest of that day.
    He shakes his fist at beautiful Mount Zion, the mountain of Jerusalem.

³³ But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power!
He will cut down the proud.
    That lofty tree will be brought down.
³⁴ He will cut down the forest trees with an ax.
    Lebanon will fall to the Mighty One.^[d]

⁴ I will make boys their leaders,
    and toddlers their rulers.
⁵ People will oppress each other—
    man against man,
    neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
    and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

⁶ In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
    Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
⁷ But he will reply,
    “No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
    Don’t put me in charge!”

⁸ For Jerusalem will stumble,
    and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him.
    They provoke him to his face.
⁹ The very look on their faces gives them away.
    They display their sin like the people of Sodom
    and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
    They have brought destruction upon themselves.

¹⁰ Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
    They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
¹¹ But the wicked are doomed,
    for they will get exactly what they deserve.

¹² Childish leaders oppress my people,
    and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you;
    they send you down the wrong road.

¹³ The Lord takes his place in court
    and presents his case against his people.^[a]
14 The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment
    on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined Israel, my vineyard.
    Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
¹⁵ How dare you crush my people,
    grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?”
    demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁸ On that day of judgment
    the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful:
ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,
¹⁹     earrings, bracelets, and veils;
²⁰ scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes,
    perfumes, and charms;
²¹ rings, jewels,
²²     party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;
²³ mirrors, fine linen garments,
    head ornaments, and shawls.

²⁴ Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink.
    She will wear a rope for a sash,
    and her elegant hair will fall out.
She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes.
    Shame will replace her beauty.^[c]
25 The men of the city will be killed with the sword,
    and her warriors will die in battle.
²⁶ The gates of Zion will weep and mourn.
    The city will be like a ravaged woman,
    huddled on the ground.

⁵ Why do you continue to invite punishment?
    Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
    and your heart is sick.
⁶ You are battered from head to foot—
    covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—
    without any soothing ointments or bandages.
⁷ Your country lies in ruins,
    and your towns are burned.
Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes
    and destroy everything they see.
⁸ Beautiful Jerusalem^[b] stands abandoned
    like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard,
like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest,
    like a helpless city under siege.
⁹ If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    had not spared a few of us,^[c]
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
    destroyed like Gomorrah.

¹⁰ Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.”
    Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
¹¹ “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
    says the Lord.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
    of bulls and lambs and goats.
¹² When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
¹³ Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.
¹⁴ I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
    They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
¹⁵ When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
¹⁶ Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.
¹⁷ Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows.

¹⁸ “Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool.
¹⁹ If you will only obey me,
    you will have plenty to eat.
²⁰ But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
    you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

²⁴ Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    the Mighty One of Israel, says,
“I will take revenge on my enemies
    and pay back my foes!
²⁵ I will raise my fist against you.
    I will melt you down and skim off your slag.
    I will remove all your impurities.
²⁶ Then I will give you good judges again
    and wise counselors like you used to have.
Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice
    and the Faithful City.”

²⁷ Zion will be restored by justice;
    those who repent will be revived by righteousness.
²⁸ But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed,
    and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.

²⁹ You will be ashamed of your idol worship
    in groves of sacred oaks.
You will blush because you worshiped
    in gardens dedicated to idols.
³⁰ You will be like a great tree with withered leaves,
    like a garden without water.
³¹ The strongest among you will disappear like straw;
    their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire.
They and their evil works will burn up together,
    and no one will be able to put out the fire.