The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 I saw Adonai standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the columns until the thresholds shake! Smash them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Those who remain I will kill with the sword; not one of them will succeed in fleeing, not one of them will escape.
1
I saw the Lord stationed by the side of the altar, giving blows to the tops of the pillars so that the doorsteps were shaking: and he said, I will let all of them be broken with earth-shocks; I will put the last of them to the sword: if any one of them goes in flight he will not get away, not one of them will be safe.
2 If they dig down to Sh'ol, my hand will haul them out; if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down.
2
Even if they go deep into the underworld, my hand will take them up from there; if they go up to heaven, I will get them down:
3 If they hide themselves on the top of the Karmel, I will search them out and capture them there; If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will order the serpent to bite them there.
3
Though they take cover on the top of Carmel, I will go in search of them and get them out; though they keep themselves from my eyes in the bed of the sea, I will give orders to the great snake there and he will give them a bite:
4 If their enemies herd them into exile, I will order the sword to kill them there. I will fix my gaze on them for harm and not for good."
4
And though they are taken away as prisoners by their attackers, even there will I give orders to the sword to put them to death: my eyes will be fixed on them for evil and not for good.
5 For Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot is the one who can melt the earth with his touch, and make all who live on it mourn. It will all rise, just like the Nile, and then subside, like the Nile in Egypt.
5
For the Lord, the God of armies, is he at whose touch the land is turned to water, and everyone in it will be given up to sorrow; all of it will be overflowing like the River, and will go down again like the River of Egypt;
6 He builds his upper rooms in heaven and establishes his sky-vault over the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the earth. ADONAI is his name.
6
It is he who makes his rooms in the heaven, basing his arch on the earth; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, and sends them flowing over the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.
7 "People of Isra'el, are you any different from the Ethiopians to me?" asks ADONAI. "True, I brought Isra'el up from Egypt, but I also brought the P'lishtim from Kaftor, and Aram from Kir.
7
Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? says the Lord. Have I not taken Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aramaeans from Kir?
8 Look, the eyes of Adonai ELOHIM are on the sinful kingdom. I will wipe it off the face of the earth, yet I will not completely destroy the house of Ya'akov," says ADONAI.
8
See, the eyes of the Lord are on the evil kingdom, and I will put an end to it in all the earth; but I will not send complete destruction on Jacob, says the Lord.
9 "For when I give the order, I will shake the house of Isra'el, there among all the Goyim, as one shakes with a sieve, letting no grain fall to the ground.
9
For see, I will give orders, and I will have Israel moved about among all the nations, as grain is moved about by the shaking of the tray, but not the smallest seed will be dropped on the earth.
10 All the sinners among my people who say, 'Disaster will never overtake us or confront us,' will die by the sword.
10
All those sinners among my people will be put to the sword who say, Evil will not overtake us or come face to face with us.
11 "When that day comes, I will raise up the fallen sukkah of David. I will close up its gaps, raise up its ruins and rebuild it as it used to be,
11
In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past;
12 so that Isra'el can possess what is left of Edom and of all the nations bearing my name," says ADONAI, who is doing this.
12
So that the rest of Edom may be their heritage, and all the nations who have been named by my name, says the Lord, who is doing this.
13 "The days will come," says ADONAI, "when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one treading grapes the one sowing seed. Sweet wine will drip down the mountains, and all the hills will flow with it.
13
See, the days will come, says the Lord, when the ploughman will overtake him who is cutting the grain, and the crusher of the grapes him who is planting seed; and sweet wine will be dropping from the mountains, and the hills will be turned into streams of wine.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Isra'el; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities; they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, cultivate gardens and eat their fruit.
14
And I will let the fate of my people Israel be changed, and they will be building up again the waste towns and living in them; they will again be planting vine-gardens and taking the wine for their drink; and they will make gardens and get the fruit of them.
15 I will plant them on their own soil, no more to be uprooted from their land, which I gave them," says ADONAI your God.
15
And I will have them planted in their land, and never again will they be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord your God.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.