The Lord will terrify them, ¹  for ²  he will weaken ³  all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ⁴ 

“I destroyed ¹  nations; their walled cities ²  are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; ³  no one lives there. ⁴ 

I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ¹  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ² 

But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted. ¹  I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.

‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful ¹  land a waste.”

And it will come about that just as you (both Judah and Israel) were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong!’

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor.

Moreover, Judah will fight at ¹  Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered up ²  – gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.

This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to ¹  him. I, the Lord, affirm that ²  I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it ³  with war, ⁴  starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. ⁵ 

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude ¹  of nations.”

Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me ¹  your way, that I may know you, ²  that I may continue to find ³  favor in your sight. And see ⁴  that this nation is your people.”

For I will drive out ¹  the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet ²  your land when you go up ³  to appear before the Lord your God three times ⁴  in the year.

So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ¹  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ²  people.”

Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you.

It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, ¹  that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he ²  made on oath to your ancestors, ³  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”

When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,”

Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.