⁷ a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail.^(A)

²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’^(A)

The Great Day of the Lord

4 ^[a]See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.^(A)

³⁸ He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy and shall appoint them as rulers over many and shall distribute the land for a price.

¹⁹ Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and shall not be found.^(A)

²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom, but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle.^[a](B)

¹⁸ Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.^(A)

The Peaceful Kingdom