1 On that day, Leviathan,
the sea monster,
will squirm and try to escape,
but the Lord will kill him
with a cruel, sharp sword.
Protection and Forgiveness
The Lord said:
2At that time you must sing
about a fruitful vineyard.
3I, the Lord, will protect it
and always keep it watered.
I will guard it day and night
to keep it from harm.
4I am no longer angry.
But if it produces thorns,
I will go to war against it
and burn it to the ground.
5Yet if the vineyard depends
on me for protection,
it will become my friend
and be at peace with me.
6Someday Israel will take root
like a vine.
It will blossom and bear fruit
that covers the earth.
7I, the Lord, didn't punish and kill
the people of Israel
as fiercely as I punished
and killed their enemies.
8I carefully measured out
Israel's punishment
and sent the scorching heat
to chase them far away.
9There's only one way
that Israel's sin and guilt
can be completely forgiven:
They must crush the stones
of every pagan altar
and place of worship.
The Lord Will Bring His People Together
10Fortress cities are left
like a desert
where no one lives.
Cattle walk through the ruins,
stripping the trees bare.
11When broken branches
fall to the ground,
women pick them up
to feed the fire.
But these people are so stupid
that the God who created them
will show them no mercy.
12The time is coming when the Lord will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together. 13A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.