Hear this
word
which
I take
up for you as a adirge
, O house
of Israel
:
She has fallen, she will anot rise
again
-- The bvirgin
Israel
. She lies neglected
on her land
; There
is cnone
to raise
her up.
For thus says
the Lord
1GOD
, "The city
which goes
forth
a thousand
strong Will have
a ahundred
left
, And the one which goes
forth
a hundred
strong Will have
bten
left
to the house
of Israel
."
For thus says
the LORD
to the house
of Israel
, " aSeek
Me bthat you may live
.
"But do not 1resort to aBethel
And do not come
to bGilgal
, Nor
cross
over
to cBeersheba
; For Gilgal
will certainly
go
into captivity
And Bethel
will 2come
to trouble
.
" aSeek the LORD
that you may live
, Or
He will break
forth
like a bfire
, 1O house
of Joseph
, And it will consume
with none
to quench
it for Bethel
,
For those who turn ajustice
into wormwood
And 1cast
righteousness
down
to the earth
."
He who made the aPleiades
and Orion
And bchanges
deep
darkness
into morning
, 1Who also cdarkens
day
into night
, Who dcalls
for the waters
of the sea
And pours
them out on the surface
of the earth
, The eLORD
is His name
.
It is He who aflashes forth
with destruction
upon the strong
, So that bdestruction
comes
upon the fortress
.
They hate him who areproves
in the 1gate
, And they babhor
him who speaks
with integrity
.
Therefore because
you 1impose
heavy
rent
on the poor
And exact
a tribute
of grain
from them, Though you have built
ahouses
of well-hewn
stone
, Yet you will not live
in them; You have planted
pleasant
vineyards
, yet you will bnot drink
their wine
.
For I know your transgressions
are many
and your sins
are great
, You who adistress
the righteous
and accept
bribes
And 1turn
aside
the poor
in the 2gate
.
Therefore at 1such
a time
the prudent
person akeeps
silent
, for it is an evil
time
.
Seek good
and not evil
, that you may live
; And thus
may the LORD
God
of hosts
be with you, aJust
as you have said
!
aHate evil
, love
good
, And establish
justice
in the 1gate
! Perhaps
the LORD
God
of hosts
bMay be gracious
to the cremnant
of Joseph
.
Therefore thus
says
the LORD
God
of hosts
, the Lord
, "There is awailing
in all
the plazas
, And in all
the streets
they say
, `Alas
! Alas
!' They also call
the bfarmer
to mourning
And 1 cprofessional
mourners
to lamentation
.
"And in all the avineyards
there is wailing
, Because
I will pass
through the midst
of you," says
the LORD
.
Alas, you who are longing
for the aday
of the LORD
, For what
purpose
will the day
of the LORD
be to you? It will be bdarkness
and not light
;
As when a man
aflees
from a lion
And a bear
meets
him, 1Or goes
home
, leans
his hand
against
the wall
And a snake
bites
him.
Will not the day of the LORD
be adarkness
instead
of light
, Even gloom
with no
brightness
in it?
"I hate, I areject
your festivals
, Nor
do I 1 bdelight
in your solemn
assemblies
.
"Even though
you aoffer
up to Me burnt
offerings
and your grain offerings
, I will not accept
them; And I will not even look
at the bpeace
offerings
of your fatlings
.
"Take away
from Me the noise
of your songs
; I will not even listen
to the sound
of your harps
.
"But let ajustice roll
down
like waters
And righteousness
like an ever-flowing
stream
.
" 1 aDid you present Me with sacrifices
and grain offerings
in the wilderness
for forty
years
, O house
of Israel
?
" aYou also carried along 1Sikkuth
your king
and 2Kiyyun
, your images
, 3the star
of your gods
which
you made
for yourselves.
"Therefore, I will make you go into exile
beyond
Damascus
," says
the LORD
, whose name
is the God
of hosts
.