Isa 24, Jer 25:15-29, Joe 3:9-14, Amo 1-2, Zep 3:8 | ESV | STEP | Behold , the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate , and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants .

1 Behold, ^athe Lord will empty the earth ^{▼▼Or land; also throughout this chapter} and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 ^cAnd it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
^das with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
^eas with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 ^fThe earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
^gfor the Lord has spoken this word.
4 ^hThe earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies ⁱdefiled
under its inhabitants;
for ^jthey have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore ^ka curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants ^lsuffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 ^mThe wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 ⁿThe mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine ^owith singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 ^pThe wasted city is broken down;
^qevery house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 ^rThere is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
^sall joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
^tas when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. ^{▼▼Hebrew from the sea}
15 ^vTherefore in the east ^{▼▼Hebrew in the realm of light} give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 ^xFrom the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to ^ythe Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For ^zthe traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 ^aaTerror and the pit and the snare ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike}
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 ^acHe who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For ^adthe windows of heaven are opened,
and ^aethe foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth ^afstaggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
^agits transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and ^ahthe kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 ^aiThey will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days ^ajthey will be punished.
23 ^akThen the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for ^althe Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.

Jeremiah 25:15-29

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^am“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^anthe sword that I am sending among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, ^aoand made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 ^apJerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^aqto make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 ^arPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and ^asall the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^atthe land of Uz and all the kings of ^authe land of the Philistines ( ^avAshkelon, ^awGaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^axAshdod); 21 ^ayEdom, ^azMoab, and the sons of ^baAmmon; 22 all the kings of ^bbTyre, all the kings of ^bcSidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^bdthe sea; 23 ^beDedan, ^bfTema, ^bgBuz, and all who cut ^bhthe corners of their hair; 24 all the ^bikings of Arabia and all the kings of ^bjthe mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^bkElam, and all the kings of ^blMedia; 26 all the kings of ^bmthe north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^bnBabylon ^{▼▼Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon} shall drink.

27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^bpDrink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^bqthe sword that I am sending among you.’

28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^brYou must drink! 29 For behold, ^bsI begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^btfor I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

Joel 3:9-14

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
^buConsecrate for war; ^{▼▼Or Consecrate a war}
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.
10 ^bwBeat your plowshares into swords,
and ^bxyour pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
11 ^byHasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
^bzBring down your warriors, O Lord.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to ^cathe Valley of Jehoshaphat;
^cbfor there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13 ^ccPut in the sickle,
^cdfor the harvest is ripe.
^ceGo in, tread,
^cffor the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For ^cgthe day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.

Amos 1

1 The words of Amos, who was among the ^chshepherds ^{▼▼Or sheep breeders} of ^cjTekoa, which he saw concerning Israel ^ckin the days of ^clUzziah king of Judah and in the days of ^cmJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years ^{▼▼Or during two years} before ^cothe earthquake.

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

2 And he said:

^cp“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
^cqthe pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the ^crtop of ^csCarmel withers.”
3 Thus says the Lord:

^ct“For three transgressions of ^cuDamascus,
and for four, ^cvI will not revoke the punishment, ^{▼▼Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13}
because they have threshed ^cxGilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 ^cySo I will send a fire upon the house of ^czHazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^daBen-hadad.
5 I will ^dbbreak the gate-bar of ^dcDamascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of ^ddAven, ^{▼▼Or On}
and him who holds the scepter from ^dfBeth-eden;
and the people of ^dgSyria shall go into exile to ^dhKir,”

says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord:

^di“For three transgressions of ^djGaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^dkthey carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^dlGaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
8 I will cut off the inhabitants from ^dmAshdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”

says the Lord God.
9 Thus says the Lord:

^dn“For three transgressions of ^doTyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^dpTyre,
and it shall devour her strongholds.”
11 Thus says the Lord:

^dq“For three transgressions of ^drEdom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
^dsbecause he pursued his brother with the sword
^dtand cast off all pity,
^duand his anger tore perpetually,
^dvand he kept his wrath forever.
12 So I will send a fire upon ^dwTeman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^dxBozrah.”
13 Thus says the Lord:

^dy“For three transgressions of the ^dzAmmonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^eathey have ripped open pregnant women in ^ebGilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^ecRabbah,
^edand it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
^eewith a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
15 and ^eftheir king shall go into exile,
he and his princes ^{▼▼Or officials} together,”

says the Lord.

Amos 2

1 Thus says the Lord:

^eh“For three transgressions of ^eiMoab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, ^{▼▼Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 4, 6}
because ^ekhe burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^elKerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 ^emI will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill ^enall its princes ^{▼▼Or officials} with him,”

says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

4 Thus says the Lord:

^ep“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^eqthey have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but ^ertheir lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So ^esI will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

6 Thus says the Lord:

^et“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^euthey sell the righteous for ^evsilver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor ^ewinto the dust of the earth
and ^exturn aside the way of the afflicted;
^eya man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments ^eztaken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet ^fait was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
^fbwhose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
^fcI destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 ^fdAlso it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
^feand led you forty years in the wilderness,
^ffto possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for ^fgNazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”

declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites ^fhdrink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ^fi‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 ^fjFlight shall perish from the swift,
^fkand the strong shall not retain his strength,
^flnor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is ^fmswift of foot shall not save himself,
^fnnor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”

declares the Lord.

Zephaniah 3:8

8 “Therefore ^fowait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is ^fpto gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
^fqall the earth shall be consumed.