5. For thus hath the Lord said; We have heard a voice of trembling, of terror, and not of peace.
6. Ask now, and see whether the man doth travail with child? for I have seen that every man has his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces have turned pale.
7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
8. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of the hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no longer place him in servitude,
9. but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
10. Therefore fear thou not, O my slave Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I am he that saves thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall turn, and shall rest, and be quiet, and there shall be no one left to scatter him.
11. For I shall be with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee; and I shall make a full end in all Gentiles among whom I scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will chastise thee with judgment and will not cut thee off altogether.
12. For thus hath the Lord said, Thy breach is incurable, and thy sore is grievous.
13. There is no one to judge thy cause unto health; there is no cure, nor are there any medicines for thee.
14. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they do not seek thee; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the whip of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
15. Why dost thou cry out for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the greatness of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
16. Therefore all those that devour thee shall be devoured; and all those that afflict thee, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and those that trampled upon thee shall be trodden down, and all that prey upon thee I will give for a prey.
17. For I will cause healing to come for thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, said the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after.
18. Thus hath the Lord said; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob’s tents and have mercy on his dwelling places and the city shall be built upon her own hill, and the temple according to her judgment shall stand.
19. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of people that live in joy: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be decreased; I will multiply them, and they shall not be cut down.
20. Their sons shall also be as at first, and their congregation shall be confirmed before me, and I will visit all their oppressors.