A man will even seize his brother

in his father’s house, saying,

“You have a cloak ​— ​you be our leader!

This heap of rubble will be under your control.”

“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God ​— ​it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

“for before the boy knows how to call ‘Father,’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.”

My hand has reached out, as if into a nest,

to seize the wealth of the nations.

Like one gathering abandoned eggs,

I gathered the whole earth.

No wing fluttered;

no beak opened or chirped.

I will make a human more scarce than fine gold,

and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.

Only gleanings will be left in Israel,

as if an olive tree had been beaten —

two or three olives at the very top of the tree,

four or five on its fruitful branches.

This is the declaration of the LORD,

the God of Israel.

Is this your jubilant city,

whose origin was in ancient times,

whose feet have taken her

to reside far away?

The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,

which is on the summit above the rich valley,

will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest.

Whoever sees it will swallow it

while it is still in his hand.

Woe to those who go to great lengths

to hide their plans from the LORD.

They do their works in the dark,

and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us? ”

For this is what the LORD said to me:

As a lion or young lion growls over its prey

when a band of shepherds is called out against it,

and it is not terrified by their shouting

or subdued by their noise,

so the LORD of Armies will come down

to fight on Mount Zion

and on its hill.

“You[fn] think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?

“Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

Who did he consult?

Who gave him understanding

and taught him the paths of justice?

Who taught him knowledge

and showed him the way of understanding?

“Let them come and tell us

what will happen.

Tell us the past events,

so that we may reflect on them

and know the outcome,

or tell us the future.

“Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf like my messenger I am sending?

Who is blind like my dedicated one,[fn]

or blind like the servant of the LORD?

All the nations are gathered together,

and the peoples are assembled.

Who among them can declare this,

and tell us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses

to vindicate themselves,

so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”

This is what the LORD says:

Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

that I used to send her away?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?

Look, you were sold for your iniquities,

and your mother was sent away

because of your transgressions.

“Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;

burst into song and shout,

you who have not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than the children of the married woman,”

says the LORD.

“For just as rain and snow fall from heaven

and do not return there

without saturating the earth

and making it germinate and sprout,

and providing seed to sow

and food to eat,

Indeed, the LORD’s arm is not too weak to save,

and his ear is not too deaf to hear.

For those who gather grain will eat it

and praise the LORD,

and those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine

in my holy courts.

This is what the LORD says:

Heaven is my throne,

and earth is my footstool.

Where could you possibly build a house for me?

And where would my resting place be?