3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ¹  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ² 

I have decided ³  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ⁴  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. ⁵ 

All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ⁶ 

and will worship him in unison. ⁷ 

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ⁸ 

those who pray to me ⁹  will bring me tribute.

3:11 In that day you ¹⁰  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ¹¹ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ¹² 

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, ¹³ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ¹⁴ 

3:13 The Israelites who remain ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! ¹⁷ 

Shout out, Israel!

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

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ¹⁸ 

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 ¹⁹  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ²⁰ 

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

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ²¹ 

he renews you by his love; ²² 

he shouts for joy over you.” ²³ 

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. ²⁴ 

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

I will rescue the lame sheep ²⁵ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ²⁶ 

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ²⁷ 

Be sure of this! ²⁸  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ²⁹ 

when you see me restore you,” ³⁰  says the Lord.