1Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a song of mourning, house of Israel:
2She has fallen, she will not rise again—
The virgin Israel.
She lies unnoticed on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.
3For this is what the Lord [a]GOD says:
“The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”
4For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me so that you may live.
5“But do not [b]resort to Bethel
And do not come to Gilgal,
Nor cross over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will [c]come to nothing.
6“Seek the LORD so that you may live,
Or He will break through like a fire, [d]house of Joseph,
And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,
7For those who turn justice into wormwood,
And [e]throw righteousness to the earth.”
8He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
And changes deep darkness into morning,
[f]Who also darkens day into night,
Who calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
The LORD is His name.
9It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong,
So that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10They hate him who rebukes in the [g]gate,
And they despise him who speaks with integrity.
11Therefore because you impose heavy [h]rent on the poor
And take a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built houses of cut stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
12For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,
You who are hostile to the righteous and accept bribes,
And [i]turn away the poor from justice at the [j]gate.
13Therefore at [k]such a time the prudent person keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.
14Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;
And so may the LORD God of armies be with you,
Just as you have said!
15Hate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the [l]gate!
Perhaps the LORD God of armies
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says:
“There is mourning in all the public squares,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’
They also call the farmer to mourning
And [m]professional mourners to mourning rites.
17“And in all the vineyards there is mourning,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the LORD.
18Woe to you who are longing for the day of the LORD,
For what [n]purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;
19As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear confronts him,
[o]Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
And a snake bites him.
20Will the day of the LORD not be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21“I hate, I reject your festivals,
Nor do I [p]delight in your festive assemblies.
22“Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen.
23“Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24“But let justice roll out like waters,
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25“[q]Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel?
26You also carried along [r]Sikkuth your king and [s]Kiyyun, your images, [t]the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.
27Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of armies.
3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
5 Lit seek
5 Lit be
6 Or in the house
7 Lit they have thrown
8 Lit And He darkened
10 I.e., the place where court was held
11 Or tax
12 Lit they turn
12 I.e., the place where court was held
13 Lit that time
15 I.e., the place where court was held
16 Lit those who know mourning
18 Lit will this be to you, the day
19 Or Then
21 Lit like to smell your
25 Or You presented Me with the sacrifices and a grain offering
26 Or Sakkuth (Saturn), or the tabernacle of your Moloch
26 Or Kaiwan (Saturn), or stands of
26 Or your star gods