17. One of them will chase a thousand of you.Five of them will make all of you flee.You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hillor a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”
18. So the lord must wait for you to come to himso he can show you his love and compassion.For the lord is a faithful God.Blessed are those who wait for his help.
19. O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,you will weep no more.He will be gracious if you ask for help.He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
20. Though the Lord gave you adversity for foodand suffering for drink,he will still be with you to teach you.You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21. Your own ears will hear him.Right behind you a voice will say,“This is the way you should go,”whether to the right or to the left.
22. Then you will destroy all your silver idolsand your precious gold images.You will throw them out like filthy rags,saying to them, “Good riddance!”
23. Then the lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.
24. The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind.
25. In that day, when your enemies are slaughtered and the towers fall, there will be streams of water flowing down every mountain and hill.
26. The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days in one! So it will be when the lord begins to heal his people and cure the wounds he gave them.
27. Look! The lord is coming from far away,burning with anger,surrounded by thick, rising smoke.His lips are filled with fury;his words consume like fire.
28. His hot breath pours out like a floodup to the neck of his enemies.He will sift out the proud nations for destruction.He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin.
29. But the people of God will sing a song of joy,like the songs at the holy festivals.You will be filled with joy,as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrimsto Jerusalem, the mountain of the lord—to the Rock of Israel.
30. And the lord will make his majestic voice heard.He will display the strength of his mighty arm.It will descend with devouring flames,with cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and huge hailstones.