Hear ye this word
which I take up
against you, even a lamentation
, O house
of Israel
.
The virgin of Israel
is fallen
; she shall no more
rise
: she is forsaken
upon her land
; there is none to raise her up
.
For thus saith the Lord
GOD
; The city
that went out
by a thousand
shall leave
an hundred
, and that which went forth
by an hundred
shall leave
ten
, to the house
of Israel
.
For thus saith the LORD
unto the house
of Israel
, Seek
ye me, and ye shall live
:
But seek not Bethel
, nor enter
into Gilgal
, and pass
not to Beersheba
: for Gilgal
shall surely
go into captivity
, and Bethel
shall come to nought
.
Seek the LORD
, and ye shall live
; lest he break out
like fire
in the house
of Joseph
, and devour
it , and there be none to quench
it in Bethel
.
Ye who turn judgment
to wormwood
, and leave off
righteousness
in the earth
,
Seek him that maketh the seven stars
and Orion
, and turneth
the shadow of death
into the morning
, and maketh the day
dark
with night
: that calleth
for the waters
of the sea
, and poureth them out
upon the face
of the earth
: The LORD
is his name
:
That strengtheneth the spoiled
against the strong
, so that the spoiled
shall come
against the fortress
.
They hate him that rebuketh
in the gate
, and they abhor
him that speaketh
uprightly
.
Forasmuch therefore as your treading
is upon the poor
, and ye take
from him burdens
of wheat
: ye have built
houses
of hewn stone
, but ye shall not dwell
in them; ye have planted
pleasant
vineyards
, but ye shall not drink
wine
of them.
For I know your manifold
transgressions
and your mighty
sins
: they afflict
the just
, they take
a bribe
, and they turn aside
the poor
in the gate
from their right .
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence
in that time
; for it is an evil
time
.
Seek good
, and not evil
, that ye may live
: and so the LORD
, the God
of hosts
, shall be with you, as ye have spoken
.
Hate the evil
, and love
the good
, and establish
judgment
in the gate
: it may be that the LORD
God
of hosts
will be gracious
unto the remnant
of Joseph
.
Therefore the LORD, the God
of hosts
, the Lord
, saith
thus; Wailing
shall be in all streets
; and they shall say
in all the highways
, Alas
! alas
! and they shall call
the husbandman
to mourning
, and such as are skilful
of lamentation
to wailing
.
And in all vineyards shall be wailing
: for I will pass
through
thee, saith
the LORD
.
Woe unto you that desire
the day
of the LORD
! to what end
is it for you? the day
of the LORD
is darkness
, and not light
.
As if a man did flee
from
a lion
, and a bear
met
him; or went
into the house
, and leaned
his hand
on the wall
, and a serpent
bit
him.
Shall not the day of the LORD
be darkness
, and not light
? even very dark
, and no brightness
in it?
I hate, I despise
your feast days
, and I will not smell
in your solemn assemblies
.
Though ye offer me burnt offerings
and your meat offerings
, I will not accept
them : neither will I regard
the peace offerings
of your fat beasts
.
Take thou away from me the noise
of thy songs
; for I will not hear
the melody
of thy viols
.
But let judgment run down
as waters
, and righteousness
as a mighty
stream
.
Have ye offered unto me sacrifices
and offerings
in the wilderness
forty
years
, O house
of Israel
?
But ye have borne the tabernacle
of your Moloch
and Chiun
your images
, the star
of your god
, which ye made
to yourselves.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond
Damascus
, saith
the LORD
, whose name
is The God
of hosts
.