The LORD Almighty told Zechariah to say to the people, "I, the LORD, was very angry with your ancestors,

They reported to the angel: "We have been all over the world and have found that the whole world lies helpless and subdued."

You thought you would always be a queen, and did not take these things to heart or think how it all would end.

But in a moment, in a single day, both of these things will happen. In spite of all the magic you use, you will lose your husband and children.

The LORD said, "Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavor has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.

Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.

How terrible it will be for you that have such an easy life in Zion and for you that feel safe in Samaria---you great leaders of this great nation Israel, you to whom the people go for help!

Give her as much suffering and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. For she keeps telling herself: 'Here I sit, a queen! I am no widow, I will never know grief !'

Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues--- disease, grief, and famine. And she will be burned with fire, because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty."

I turned away angry for only a moment, but I will show you my love forever." So says the LORD who saves you.

Because the Lord corrects everyone he loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a child."

Endure what you suffer as being a father's punishment; your suffering shows that God is treating you as his children. Was there ever a child who was not punished by his father?

They persecute those whom you have punished; they talk about the sufferings of those you have wounded.

Look! Your enemies are in revolt, and those who hate you are rebelling.

"Come," they say, "let us destroy their nation, so that Israel will be forgotten forever."

Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did the day Jerusalem was captured. Remember how they kept saying, "Tear it down to the ground!"

The LORD said, "Assyria! I use Assyria like a club to punish those with whom I am angry.

But the Assyrian emperor has his own violent plans in mind. He is determined to destroy many nations.

I was angry with my people; I treated them as no longer mine: I put them in your power, and you showed them no mercy; even the aged you treated harshly.

The LORD says, "You will see me repay Babylonia and its people for all the evil they did to Jerusalem.

The king of Babylonia cut Jerusalem up and ate it. He emptied the city like a jar; like a monster he swallowed it. He took what he wanted and threw the rest away.

Let the people of Zion say, "May Babylonia be held responsible for the violence done to us!" Let the people of Jerusalem say, "May Babylonia be held responsible for what we have suffered!"

Tell them to listen to what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were delighted to see my Temple profaned, to see the land of Israel devastated, to see the people of Judah go into exile.

I will turn the city of Rabbah into a place to keep camels, and the whole country of Ammon will become a place to keep sheep, so that you will know I am the LORD.

Because you did, I will hand you over to other nations who will rob you and plunder you. I will destroy you so completely that you will not be a nation any more or have a country of your own. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

The Sovereign LORD said, "The people of Edom took cruel revenge on Judah, and that revenge has brought lasting guilt on Edom.

My people Israel will take revenge on Edom for me, and they will make Edom feel my furious anger. Edom will know what it means to be the object of my revenge." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

And so I am announcing that I will attack the Philistines and wipe them out. I will destroy everyone left living there on the Philistine Plain.

"Mortal man," he said, "this is what the people in the city of Tyre are cheering about. They shout, 'Jerusalem is shattered! Her commercial power is gone! She won't be our rival any more!'

Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD." The LORD says, "The Israelites relied on you Egyptians for support, but you were no better than a weak stick.

When they leaned on you, you broke, pierced their armpits, and made them wrench their backs.

Tell them to listen to what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were delighted to see my Temple profaned, to see the land of Israel devastated, to see the people of Judah go into exile.

I will turn the city of Rabbah into a place to keep camels, and the whole country of Ammon will become a place to keep sheep, so that you will know I am the LORD.

Because you did, I will hand you over to other nations who will rob you and plunder you. I will destroy you so completely that you will not be a nation any more or have a country of your own. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

I will let the cities that defend the border of Moab be attacked, including even the finest cities---Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim.

So now listen to what I, the Sovereign LORD, say to you mountains and hills, to you brooks and valleys, to you places that were left in ruins, and to you deserted cities which were plundered and mocked by all the surrounding nations.

"I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken out in the heat of my anger against the surrounding nations, and especially against Edom. With glee and contempt they captured my land and took possession of its pastures.

The LORD says, "The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They treated the people of Gilead with savage cruelty.

I will smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away as prisoners to the land of Kir."

So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses.

The LORD says, "The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation into exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the treaty of friendship they had made.

The LORD says, "The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, and showed them no mercy. Their anger had no limits, and they never let it die.

The LORD says, "The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. In their wars for more territory they even ripped open pregnant women in Gilead.

"Because you robbed and killed your relatives, the descendants of Jacob, you will be destroyed and dishonored forever.

You should not have gloated over the misfortune of your relatives in Judah. You should not have been glad on the day of their ruin. You should not have laughed at them in their distress.

You should not have stood at the crossroads to catch those trying to escape. You should not have handed them over to the enemy on the day of their distress.

My people have drunk a bitter cup of punishment on my sacred hill. But all the surrounding nations will drink a still more bitter cup of punishment; they will drink it all and vanish away.