Summary
The chapter opens with an invitation to all peoples to listen to God’s impending judgment, stressing that the LORD’s indignation is upon every nation and its armies. It describes a catastrophic, divine scourge: bodies rise, mountains melt with blood, and even the host of heaven is dissolved. The focus then shifts to Idumea and those cursed by God, who will be struck by a sword bathed in heavenly blood and subject to a great slaughter. The text portrays the aftermath as a land turned to pitch, brimstone, and eternal smoke, where only carrion birds thrive. Despite this desolation, certain creatures—cormorants, bitterns, owls, ravens—will inhabit the ruins, symbolizing the enduring presence of nature even amid judgment. The prophecy concludes with a promise that the Lord has decreed the fate of these people, dividing the land among them for all generations.