Warnings to Assyria and promises to God’s people

1Terrible things will happen to you people of Assyria!
You have destroyed others, but you have not been destroyed yet. You have betrayed/deceived others, but you have not been betrayed/deceived yet. When you stop destroying others ⁰, others will destroy you. When you stop betraying/deceiving others, others will betray you.

2Yahweh, be kind to us, because we have patiently waited for you to help us. Enable us to be strong every day, and rescue us when we have troubles.

3Our enemies run away when they hear your voice. When you stand up and show that you are powerful [IDM], the people of all nations flee.

4And after our enemies have been defeated,
we, your people, will take away all our enemies’ possessions like [SIM] caterpillars and locusts strip off all the leaves of plants.

5Yahweh is greater than anyone else, and he lives in heaven, and he will rule justly and righteously in Jerusalem.

6When that happens, he will enable you to live securely/safely; he will fully protect your possessions,
he will enable you to be wise and to know all that you need to know; and revering Yahweh will be like [MET] a valuable treasure for you.

7But now, look, our brave men are crying out in the streets;
our ambassadors have gone to other countries to make peace treaties, but they will cry bitterly because they will not succeed.

8No one travels on our roads [DOU]. The leaders of Assyria have broken/disregarded their peace treaty with us; they despise the people who made those treaties, and they do not respect anyone.

9The land of Judah is dry and barren. The cedar trees in Lebanon are drying up and decaying. The Sharon Plain along the coast is now a desert. There are no more leaves on the trees in the Bashan and Carmel areas.

10Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].

11You people of Assyria make plans that are as useless as [MET] chaff and straw. Your breath will become a fire that will burn you up.

12Your people will be burned until only ashes remain [MET] like [SIM] thornbushes are cut down and burned up in a fire.

13You people who live far away and you people who live nearby, pay attention to what I have done and realize that I am very powerful.”

14The sinners in Jerusalem will tremble because of being very afraid; godless people will be terrified. They say, “None of us can [RHQ] remain alive because this fire is burning everything; it is like the fire on Yahweh’s altar that will burn forever!”

15Those who act honestly and say what is right, those who do not try to become rich by ◄extortion/forcing people to give them money►, those who do not try to get bribes, those who refuse to listen to people who are planning to murder someone, those who do not join others who urge them to do what is wrong,

16they are the people who will live safely [MTY]; they will find places to be safe in the caves in the mountains. They will have plenty of food and water.

17You [SYN] people of Judah will see the king wearing all his beautiful robes, and you will see that he rules a land that extends far away.

18When you see that, you will think about when you were previously terrified, and you will say, “The officers of Assyria who counted the tax money that we were forced to pay to them have disappeared [RHQ]!
Those men who counted our towers are gone [RHQ]!

19Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”

20At that time, you will see Zion Hill, the place where we celebrate our festivals; you will see that Jerusalem has become a place that is calm and safe.
It will be secure, like [SIM] a tent that cannot be moved because its ropes are tight and its stakes are firmly in the ground.

21Yahweh will be our mighty God;
he will be like [SIM] a mighty river that will protect us because our enemies will not be able to cross it;
no one will be able to row across it
and no ships will be able to sail across it.

22Yahweh is our judge; he is the one who gives us laws, and he is our king. He will rescue us.

23The ropes on our enemies’ boats will hang loose, their masts will not be fastened firmly,
and their sails will not be spread out. The treasures that they have seized will be divided among us, God’s people, and even lame people among us will get some.

24And the people in Jerusalem will no longer say, “We are sick,” because Yahweh will forgive the sins that have been committed by the people who live there.