1The filthy, stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished!

2She is disobedient;
she refuses correction.
She does not trust the Lord;
she does not seek the advice of her God.

3Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions;
her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert,
who completely devour their prey by morning.

4Her prophets are proud;
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy;
they break God’s laws.

5The just Lord resides within her;
he commits no unjust acts.
Every morning he reveals his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail.
Yet the unjust know no shame.

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

6“I destroyed nations;
their walled cities are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate;
no one lives there.

7I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed
by all the punishments I have threatened.
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did.

8Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.
I have decided to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.

9Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray,
and will worship him in unison.

10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
those who pray to me will bring me tribute.

11In that day you will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,
for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,
and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

12I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,
and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.

13The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”

14Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!
Shout out, Israel!
Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

15The Lord has removed the judgment against you;
he has turned back your enemy.
Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!
You no longer need to fear disaster.

16On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
“Don’t be afraid, Zion!
Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!

17The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.”

18“As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –
I took them away from you;
they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.

19Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.
I will rescue the lame sheep
and gather together the scattered sheep.
I will take away their humiliation
and make the whole earth admire and respect them.

20At that time I will lead you –
at the time I gather you together.
Be sure of this! I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you when you see me restore you,” says the Lord.