16. Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right — escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster!
17. A thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. Nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagstaff on the top of a hill!
18. And yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
19. You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any more. The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you.
20. The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more.
21. If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.”
22. You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, “Out of my sight!”
23. Whenever you sow your seeds, the Lord will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture.
24. The oxen and donkeys that plough your fields will eat the finest and best fodder.
25. On the day when the forts of your enemies are captured and their people are killed, streams of water will flow from every mountain and every hill.
26. The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter than usual, like the light of seven days in one. This will all happen when the Lord bandages and heals the wounds he has given his people.
27. The Lord's power and glory can be seen in the distance. Fire and smoke show his anger. He speaks, and his words burn like fire.
28. He sends the wind in front of him like a flood that carries everything away. It sweeps nations to destruction and puts an end to their evil plans.
29. But you, God's people, will be happy and sing as you do on the night of a sacred festival. You will be as happy as those who walk to the music of flutes on their way to the Temple of the Lord, the defender of Israel.
30. The Lord will let everyone hear his majestic voice and feel the force of his anger. There will be flames, cloudbursts, hailstones, and torrents of rain.
31. The Assyrians will be terrified when they hear the Lord's voice and feel the force of his punishment.