3:1 The filthy, ¹  stained city is as good as dead;

the city filled with oppressors is finished! ² 

3:2 She is disobedient; ³ 

she refuses correction. ⁴ 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ⁵  her God.

3:3 Her princes ⁶  are as fierce as roaring lions; ⁷ 

her rulers ⁸  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ⁹ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ¹⁰ 

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ¹¹ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ¹² 

they break God’s laws. ¹³ 

3:5 The just Lord resides ¹⁴  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ¹⁵ 

Every morning he reveals ¹⁶  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ¹⁷ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

3:6 “I destroyed ¹⁸  nations;

their walled cities ¹⁹  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ²⁰ 

no one lives there. ²¹ 

3:7 I thought, ²²  ‘Certainly you will respect ²³  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ²⁴  would not be destroyed ²⁵ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ²⁶ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ²⁷ 

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ²⁸  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ²⁹ 

I have decided ³⁰  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ³¹  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable

the nations to give me acceptable praise. ³² 

All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ³³ 

and will worship him in unison. ³⁴ 

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ³⁵ 

those who pray to me ³⁶  will bring me tribute.

3:11 In that day you ³⁷  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ³⁸ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ³⁹ 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ⁴⁰ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ⁴¹ 

3:13 The Israelites who remain ⁴²  will not act deceitfully.

They will not lie,

and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.

Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep ⁴³  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! ⁴⁴ 

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ⁴⁵ 

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster.

3:16 On that day they will say ⁴⁶  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ⁴⁷ 

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ⁴⁸ 

he renews you by his love; ⁴⁹ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁵⁰ 

3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –

I took them away from you;

they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. ⁵¹ 

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁵² 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁵³ 

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁵⁴ 

Be sure of this! ⁵⁵  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁵⁶ 

when you see me restore you,” ⁵⁷  says the Lord.