The Last Days and the Day of Yahweh for Jerusalem: With two visions of Zion/Jerusalem’s restoration (1:1–2:1 and 5:1–30) bracketing substantial declarations of coming calamity for Zion/Jerusalem/Judah, chapters 1–5 as a whole have a trouble-promise-trouble-promise-trouble arrangement. Worrisomely, trouble enfolds the community even though blessing is its background destiny. Or, encouragingly, blessing does lie enfolded even if trouble dominates the community’s immediate prospects. We do not know the date of any of the material or of the composition of the whole.

2:6–9 The address to God in verses 6a (“You have abandoned them”) and 9b (“do not forgive them”) forms a bracket round the description of the community in the rest of verses 6–9, so that throughout these verses the people overhear I…