5 Thus says the Lord:We hear a cry of fear:terror, not peace.
6 Inquire and see:does a male give birth?Why, then, do I see all these men,their hands on their loinsLike women in labor,all their faces drained of color?
7 Ah! How mighty is that day—there is none like it!A time of distress for Jacob,though he shall be saved from it.
8 On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—I will break his yoke off your neck and snap your bonds. Strangers shall no longer enslave them;
9 instead, they shall serve the Lord, their God, and David, their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 But you, my servant Jacob, do not fear!—oracle of the Lord—do not be dismayed, Israel!For I will soon deliver you from places far away,your offspring from the land of their exile;Jacob shall again find rest,secure, with none to frighten him,
11 for I am with you—oracle of the Lord—to save you.I will bring to an end all the nationsamong whom I have scattered you;but you I will not bring to an end.I will chastise you as you deserve,I will not let you go unpunished.