The LORD's Judgment on the Earth

241 Behold , the Lord lays the earth waste , devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants . 2 And the people will be like the priest , the servant like his master , the maid like her mistress , the buyer like the seller , the lender like the borrower , the creditor like the debtor . 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled , for the Lord has spoken this word . 4 The earth mourns and withers , the world fades and withers , the exalted of the people of the earth fade away . 5 The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants , for they transgressed laws , violated statutes , broke the everlasting covenant . 6 Therefore e , a curse devours the earth , and those who live in it are held guilty . Therefore e , the inhabitants of the earth are burned , and few men are left . 7 The new wine mourns , The vine decays , All the merry-hearted e sigh . 8 The gaiety of tambourines ceases , The noise of revelers stops , The gaiety of the harp ceases . 9 They do not drink wine with song ; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10 The city of chaos is broken down ; Every house is shut up so that none may enter . 11 There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine ; All joy turns to gloom . The gaiety of the earth is banished . 12 Desolation is left in the city And the gate is battered to ruins .

13 For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples , As the shaking of an olive tree , As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over . 14 They raise their voices , they shout for joy ; They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the Lord . 15 Therefore e glorify the Lord in the east , The name of the Lord , the God of Israel , In the coastlands of the sea .

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs , " Glory to the Righteous One ," But I say , " Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me! The treacherous deal treacherously , And the treacherous deal very treacherously ." 17 Terror and pit and snare Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth . 18 Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit , And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare ; For the windows above e are opened , and the foundations of the earth shake . 19 The earth is broken asunder , The earth is split through , The earth is shaken violently . 20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack , For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall , never to rise again . 21 So it will happen in that day , That the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high , And the kings of the earth on earth . 22 They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon , And will be confined in prison ; And after many days they will be punished . 23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed , For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem , And His glory will be before His elders .

The LORD's Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

31 For behold , the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support , the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water ; 2 The mighty man and the warrior , The judge and the prophet , The diviner and the elder , 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable e man, The counselor and the expert artisan , And the skillful enchanter . 4 And I will make mere lads their princes , And capricious children will rule over them, 5 And the people will be oppressed , Each one by another , and each one by his neighbor ; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable . 6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house , saying, "You have a cloak , you shall be our ruler , And these ruins will be under your charge ," 7 He will protest on that day , saying , "I will not be your healer , For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak ; You should not appoint me ruler of the people ." 8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen , Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord , To rebel against His glorious presence .

9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom ; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions . 11 Woe to the wicked ! It will go badly with him, For what e he deserves e will be done to him. 12 O My people ! Their oppressors are children , And women rule over them. O My people ! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths . 13 The Lord arises to contend , And stands to judge the people . 14 The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people , "It is you who have devoured the vineyard ; The plunder of the poor is in your houses . 15 "What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor ?" Declares the Lord GOD of hosts .

Judgment on the Daughters of Zion

16 Moreover, the Lord said , "Because e the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes , And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet , 17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs , And the Lord will make their foreheads bare ." 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets , headbands , crescent ornaments , 19 dangling earrings , bracelets , veils , 20 headdresses , ankle chains , sashes , perfume e boxes , amulets , 21 finger rings , nose rings , 22 festal robes , outer tunics , cloaks , money purses , 23 hand mirrors , undergarments , turbans and veils . 24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction ; Instead of a belt , a rope ; Instead of well-set hair , a plucked-out scalp ; Instead of fine clothes , a donning of sackcloth ; And branding instead of beauty . 25 Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle . 26 And her gates will lament and mourn , And deserted she will sit on the ground .