Judah and Jerusalem judged along with the nations
Judah summoned to repent
1Gather together, gather yourselves together,
you shameful nation,
2before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the Lord’s fierce anger
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath
comes upon you.
3Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Philistia
4Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite people;
the word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, ‘I will destroy you,
and none will be left.’
6The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and sheepfolds for flocks.
7That land will belong
to the remnant of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.2:7 Or will bring back their captives
Moab and Ammon
8‘I have heard the insults of Moab
and the taunts of the Ammonites,
who insulted my people
and made threats against their land.
9Therefore, as surely as I live,’
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
‘surely Moab will become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah –
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland for ever.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.’
10This is what they will get in return for their pride,
for insulting and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.
11The Lord will be awesome to them
when he destroys all the gods of the earth.
Distant nations will bow down to him,
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
12‘You Cushites,2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region too,
will be slain by my sword.’
Assyria
13He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.
14Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15This is the city of revelry
that lived in safety.
She said to herself,
‘I am the one! And there is none besides me.’
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
All who pass by her scoff
and shake their fists.
呼籲百姓悔改
1-2不知羞恥的國民啊，
趁命令尚未發出、
日子尚未如風中的糠疾飛而去、
耶和華的烈怒尚未臨到你們、
祂向你們發怒的日子尚未來臨，
要聚集，聚集起來！
3世上所有遵守耶和華典章的謙卑人啊，
要尋求耶和華，追求公義，為人謙卑。
也許在耶和華發怒的日子，
你們可以得到庇護。
審判以色列的鄰國
4迦薩必被拋棄，
亞實基倫必淪為廢墟，
亞實突的居民必在中午被趕走，
以革倫必被連根拔除。
5住在海邊的基利提人啊，
你們有禍了！
非利士人的土地——迦南啊，
耶和華宣告要毀滅你，
使你杳無人煙。
6沿海地區必成為草場，
有牧人的居所和羊圈。
7那裡必歸給猶大家的餘民，
他們必在那裡放牧，
晚上睡在亞實基倫的房屋裡，
因為他們的上帝耶和華必眷顧他們，
使他們回到故土。
8-9以色列的上帝——萬軍之耶和華說：
「我聽見了摩押人的譭謗和亞捫人的辱罵。
他們譭謗我的子民，揚言侵佔他們的土地。
我憑自己的永恆起誓，
摩押和亞捫必刺草叢生、鹽坑遍地、永遠荒廢，
如所多瑪和蛾摩拉一樣。
我餘下的子民必擄掠他們，
我倖存的百姓必承受他們的土地。」
10這是他們的報應，
因為他們狂妄自大，
譭謗萬軍之耶和華的子民。
11耶和華必令他們恐懼，
因為祂要消滅世上的神明。
天下萬民必各在本地敬拜祂。
12古實人啊，
你們必死在耶和華的刀下。
13祂必伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，
使尼尼微一片荒涼，
如乾旱的曠野。
14牲畜和野獸必躺臥在那裡，
貓頭鷹和刺蝟棲身在房柱上，
窗口傳來鳥鳴，
門庭都已破敗，
露出香柏木梁。
15這就是那歡樂安逸、
自以為無與倫比的城，
現在竟然如此荒涼，
成為野獸棲息之地！
路過的人都搖手嘲笑它。
