1. The Lord, the God of Israel,
2. said to me: “Write down in a book everything that I have told you,
3. because the time is coming when I will restore my people, Israel and Judah. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
4. The Lord says to the people of Israel and Judah:
5. “I heard a cry of terror,a cry of fear and not of peace.
6. Now stop and think!Can a man give birth to a child?Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomachlike a woman in labour?Why is everyone so pale?
21-22. Their ruler will come from their own nation,their prince from their own people.He will approach me when I invite him,for who would dare come uninvited?They will be my people,and I will be their God.I, the Lord, have spoken.”
23-24. The Lord's anger is a storm, a furious wind that will rage over the heads of the wicked. It will not end until he has done all that he intends to do. In days to come his people will understand this clearly.