1 Babylonia, Asia, Egypt, and Syria, you are doomed! 2 Put on your clothes of mourning, your sackcloth and goat's hair. Cry and wail for your children because the time for your destruction is near. 3 I am sending war on you, and no one can stop it. 4 I am sending fire on you, and no one can put it out. 5 I am sending disasters on you, and no one can stop them from coming. 6 Can anyone stop a hungry lion in the forest or put out a fire that is burning in straw 7 or turn back an arrow shot by a strong archer? 8 When the Lord God sends disaster, no one can hold it back. 9 No one can escape the blazing anger of the Lord. 10 When he sends lightning, no one can keep from trembling; and when it thunders, everyone is afraid. 11 When the Lord makes his threats, no one can keep from falling to the ground in his presence. 12 The foundations of the earth tremble. There is violent churning in the deepest part of the sea. Even the creatures in the sea are in turmoil when the Lord makes his glorious power felt. 13 He is like a mighty archer whose strong right arm bends the bow. His arrows are sharp and never miss their mark once they are shot out toward any part of the earth. 14 He has already sent out his disasters toward the earth, and they will not miss their target. 15 The fire has been lit, and it cannot be put out until it burns up the foundations of the earth. 16 The disasters are on their way toward the earth, and like an arrow shot by a strong archer, they cannot be turned back.
17 I'm doomed! I'm doomed! Who will rescue me in those days? 18 Troubles will come, and many people will groan. Famine will come, and many will die. Wars will come, and the world powers will tremble. Disasters will come, and everyone will be terrified. What will people do when these disasters come? 19 Famine, epidemics, troubles, and suffering are sent to punish and correct people. 20 But in spite of all this, they will not turn away from their sins; they soon forget their punishment. 21 The time is coming when food will be so cheap that people will think a time of peace and plenty has arrived. But then disasters will spring up everywhere—wars, famine, and great confusion. 22 Many people on earth will starve to death, and those who escape starvation will be killed in war. 23 Their corpses will be thrown out like garbage, and there will be no one left to comfort the living. The earth will be deserted and its cities demolished. 24 There will be no one left to plow the land or plant it. 25 Trees will bear their fruit, but there will be no one left to pick it. 26 Grapes will ripen, but there will be no one left to make wine. There will be desolation everywhere, 27 and a person will long to see the face of another human being or even to hear another person's voice. 28 Only ten will be left out of a whole city, and in the countryside, only two, who have hidden in the forest or in caves. 29 When an olive grove is harvested, three or four olives may be left on each tree. 30 When grapes in a vineyard are picked, a few bunches may be left even by those who look carefully. 31 That is how it will be in those days. Three or four will be missed by the soldiers who search through the houses to kill everyone. 32 The land will be left empty; the fields will be overgrown with briers; the roads and paths will be covered with weeds and thorns because there will be no sheep to graze along them. 33 Young women will be in mourning because there is no one to marry them; wives will be in mourning because they have lost their husbands; daughters will be in mourning because there is no one to help them. 34 All the young men will be killed in the war, and all the married men will die in the famine.
God's People Must Prepare for the End
35 Now listen to my message, you people who serve the Lord. 36 It is the Lord's message, so receive it and believe what he says. 37 The disasters are approaching rapidly, and they will not be delayed. 38 A woman in the ninth month of pregnancy may suffer labor pains for several hours, but when the time comes for the baby to be born, there is no longer any delay. 39 In the same way, the disasters that are coming on the earth will not be delayed, and the world will groan when it is caught in its labor pains.
40 Listen to my message, my people, and get ready for the battle. When the disasters come, you must live as people whose home is not in this world. 41-42 Merchants must not expect to make a profit from what they sell; they must be ready to run for their lives. Their customers must expect to lose whatever they buy. Whoever builds a house should not plan to live in it. 43 Farmers should not expect to harvest their crops or pick their grapes. 44 Those who marry must not expect to have children, and those who don't marry must live as if they had been widowed. 45 Anything that is done will be useless. 46 Foreigners will harvest the crops, seize the wealth, tear down the houses, and carry off the children as slaves. Anyone who has children will be bringing them up to be slaves or to die of starvation. 47 Anyone who makes money will do so only to see it violently taken away. The more possessions people gather, the more they spend on their cities and houses, the more attention they give to their personal appearance, 48 the more angry the Lord will become with them because of their sin. This is what the Lord says. 49 Just as a respectable woman despises a prostitute, 50 so righteousness despises sinfulness, no matter how attractive it may look. Righteousness will expose every sin in the world and condemn it face-to-face when her Defender comes. 51 So do not imitate sinfulness or what it does, 52 for in a very short time sinfulness will be swept out of the world and righteousness will rule among us.
53 Sinners must not deny their sins. Those who say that they have not sinned against God and his majesty are only bringing fiery shame upon themselves. 54 The Lord certainly knows everything that people do; he knows their plans and innermost thoughts. 55 When the Lord said, “Let the world be created,” it was done! When he said, “Let the sky be created,” that was done too. 56 He set the stars in place by his command, and he knows how many of them there are. 57 He knows what is in the deepest part of the sea and the treasures that are there. He has measured the sea and everything that is in it. 58 By his word he confined the sea to its place and put the land on top of the water. 59 The Lord stretched out the sky and fixed it firmly over the water like a dome. 60 He put springs of water in the desert and lakes in the high mountains, so that water could flow down in the rivers and water the land. 61 The Lord created human beings and gave each one of them a heart. He gave them life, breath, and understanding, 62 which is the spirit of God the Almighty, who created everything and who knows all secrets and sees into all hidden places. 63 My people, the Lord knows everything you plan and the secret thoughts of your heart. Sinners who try to hide their sins are doomed. 64 The Lord will carefully examine everything you have done and bring you to judgment. 65 On that day you will be thrown into utter confusion; all your sins will be publicly exposed and the wicked things you have done will witness against you. 66 What will you do then? How will you hide your sins from God and his angels? 67 God is your judge, so fear him! Abandon your sins, put away the evil you have done, and never sin again. Then God will save you from all these disasters.
68 A vast mob of people is ready now to descend on you and devour you like flames. They will drag some of you off and force you to eat pagan sacrifices. 69 If you give in to them, they will ridicule you, mock you, and humiliate you. 70 In many places near the cities there will be violent persecution against those who fear the Lord. 71 The attackers will act like wild people; they will plunder and destroy without pity all those who still fear the Lord. 72 They will turn them out of their homes and take away all their possessions. 73 This will be the time of testing for my chosen people, and they will prove to be as pure as refined gold.
74 But listen to what the Lord says: “My chosen people, the time of terrible suffering is near, but I will rescue you. 75 Don't be afraid or have any doubts; I am your God and I will lead you. 76 If you keep my laws and commands,” says the Lord, “you must not let your sins weigh you down or control you. 77 Those who are chained by their sins, overwhelmed by the evil they have done, are doomed. They will be like a field overgrown with brush, with the path across it so choked with thorns that no one can get through. 78 It is abandoned and doomed to be destroyed by fire.”
1 Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!
2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.
3 A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?
4 A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?
5 Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away?
6 May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn?
7 May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer?
8 The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can drive them away?
9 A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may quench it?
10 He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?
11 The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his presence?
12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:
13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.
14 Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth.
15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth.
16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall not return again.
17 Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?
18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do when these evils shall come?
19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment.
20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.
23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down.
24 There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it.
25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?
26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:
27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice.
28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.
29 As in an orchard of olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives;
30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:
31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.
32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.
33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.
34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.
35 Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of the Lord.
36 Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake.
37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.
38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:
39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.
40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.
41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose:
42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:
43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:
44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they that marry not, as the widowers.
45 And therefore they that labour labour in vain:
46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children.
47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons:
48 The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith the Lord.
49 Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:
50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon earth.
51 And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof.
52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.
53 Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his glory, I have not sinned.
54 Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:
55 Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.
56 In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number of them.
57 He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth.
58 He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.
59 He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters hath he founded it.
60 In the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools upon the tops of the mountains, that the floods might pour down from the high rocks to water the earth.
61 He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding.
62 Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things, and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth,
63 Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin.
64 Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to shame.
65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.
66 What will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and his angels?
67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
68 For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols.
69 And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
70 For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.
71 They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord.
72 For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses.
73 Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as the gold in the fire.
74 Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.
75 Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,
76 And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves.
77 Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered with their iniquities like as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!
78 It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be consumed therewith.