Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah: Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He shall take away her wealth, carry off her plunder, and remove her spoils; and that will be the wages for his army.

I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath. I will command him to draw out the plunder, and to seize the spoils, and to trample them like the mud of the streets.

Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; and all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity. And those who plunder you shall become plunder, and all who prey upon you I will give as prey.

Therefore says the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah! I will be eased of My adversaries, and avenge Myself of My enemies.

And I will turn back My hand upon you, and refine your dross, as with lye, and remove all your alloy.

And I will cut off the inhabitants of Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn My hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord Jehovah.

Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man who is My Associate, says Jehovah of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. And I will turn My hand on the little ones.

Thus says the Lord Jehovah: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.

And they will say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.

And fields shall be bought in this land of which you say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

Men shall buy fields for money, and write it in a document, and seal it, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south. For I will cause their captives to return, says Jehovah.

Thus says Jehovah of Hosts: Again in this place which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him who counts them, says Jehovah.

Then the Angel of Jehovah answered and said, O Jehovah of Hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, against which You have had indignation these seventy years?

Cry out again, saying, Thus says Jehovah of Hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and Jehovah shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

After many days you will be visited. In the last final years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

I will whistle for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them. And they shall multiply as they once multiplied.

And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt and gather them out of Assyria. And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, until no more room shall be found for them.

And Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, people are coming down from the midst of the land, and another company is coming from the plain by way of the fortunetellers.