1 I saw the Lordstandingbeside the 1altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the 2thresholds will shake, And 3break them on the heads of them all! Then I will 4slay the rest of them with the sword; They will 5not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.
2
"Though they dig into 6Sheol, From there will My handtake them; And though they 7ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.
3
"Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will 8search them out and take them from there; And though they 9conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the 10serpent and it will bite them.
4
"And though they go into 11captivitybefore their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will 12set My eyesagainst them for evil and not for good."
5
The LordGOD of hosts, The One who 13touches the land so that it melts, And 14all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6
The One who builds His 15upperchambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulteddomeover the earth, He who 16calls for the waters of the sea And 17pours them out on the face of the earth, 18The LORD is His name.
7
"Are you not as the sons of 19Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the 20Philistines from Caphtor and the 21Arameans from 22Kir?
8
"Behold, the 23eyes of the LordGOD are on the sinfulkingdom, And I will 24destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless*, I will 25not totallydestroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD.
9
"For behold, I am commanding, And I will 26shake the house of Israel among allnations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a kernel will fall to the ground.
10
"All the 27sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, '28The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'