18 Look up all around and see:they are all gathered;they come to you.As surely as I live, says the Lord, you will put them all on like ornaments,bind them on like a bride.
19 As for your ruins and desolate placesand destroyed land—you will soon be crowded with settlers,and those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,"The place is too crowded for me;make room for me to settle."
21 And you will think to yourself,Who bore me these?I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.So who raised these?I was left behind, I was alone;where were these?
22 The Lord God says:Look, I will raise my hand to the nations,and to the peoples I will lift up my signal.They will bring your sons in their arms,and will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your attendants,and their queens your nursemaids.With faces to the ground they will bow down to you;they will lick the dust from your feet.You will know that I am the Lord;the one who hopes in me won’t be ashamed.
24 Can loot be taken from warriors?Can a tyrant’s captives escape?