1 On that day the Lord will use his powerful and deadly sword to punish Leviathan, that wriggling, twisting dragon, and to kill the monster that lives in the sea.
2 On that day the Lord will say of his pleasant vineyard, 3 “I watch over it and water it continually. I guard it night and day so that no one will harm it. 4 I am no longer angry with the vineyard. If there were thorns and briers to fight against, I would burn them up completely. 5 But if the enemies of my people want my protection, let them make peace with me. Yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In the days to come the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will take root like a tree, and they will blossom and bud. The earth will be covered with the fruit they produce.
7 Israel has not been punished by the Lord as severely as its enemies nor lost as many people. 8 The Lord punished his people by sending them into exile. He took them away with a cruel wind from the east. 9 But Israel's sins will be forgiven only when the stones of pagan altars are ground up like chalk, and no more incense altars or symbols of the goddess Asherah are left.
10 The fortified city lies in ruins. It is deserted like an empty wilderness. It has become a pasture for cattle, where they can rest and graze. 11 The branches of the trees are withered and broken, and women gather them for firewood. Because the people have understood nothing, God their Creator will not pity them or show them any mercy.
12 On that day, from the Euphrates to the Egyptian border, the Lord will gather his people one by one, as threshing separates the wheat from the chaff.
13 When that day comes, a trumpet will be blown to call back from Assyria and Egypt all the Israelites who are in exile there. They will come and worship the Lord in Jerusalem, on his sacred hill.
1 On that day, Leviathan,
the sea monster,
will squirm and try to escape,
but the Lord will kill him
with a cruel, sharp sword.
Protection and Forgiveness
The Lord said:
2 At that time you must sing
about a fruitful vineyard.
3 I, the Lord, will protect it
and always keep it watered.
I will guard it day and night
to keep it from harm.
4 I am no longer angry.
But if it produces thorns,
I will go to war against it
and burn it to the ground.
5 Yet if the vineyard depends
on me for protection,
it will become my friend
and be at peace with me.
6 Someday Israel will take root
like a vine.
It will blossom and bear fruit
that covers the earth.
7 I, the Lord, didn't punish and kill
the people of Israel
as fiercely as I punished
and killed their enemies.
8 I carefully measured out
Israel's punishment
and sent the scorching heat
to chase them far away.
9 There's only one way
that Israel's sin and guilt
can be completely forgiven:
They must crush the stones
of every pagan altar
and place of worship.
The Lord Will Bring His People Together
10 Fortress cities are left
like a desert
where no one lives.
Cattle walk through the ruins,
stripping the trees bare.
11 When broken branches
fall to the ground,
women pick them up
to feed the fire.
But these people are so stupid
that the God who created them
will show them no mercy.
12 The time is coming when the Lord will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together. 13 A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
