| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1“If you will return, O Israel, return to Me,” declares the LORD. “If you will remove your detestable idols from My sight and no longer waver, | 1"If you, Israel, want to come back," says the LORD, "if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray. |
| 2and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.” | 2You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives!' If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting." |
| 3For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns. | 3Yes, the LORD has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. |
| 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.” | 4Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the LORD and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done." |
| 5Announce in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves and let us flee to the fortified cities.’ | 5The LORD said, "Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Shout out loudly, 'Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!' |
| 6Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction. | 6Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction. |
| 7A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited. | 7Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited. |
| 8So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.” | 8So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, 'The fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us!'" |
| 9“In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be astounded.” | 9"When this happens," says the LORD, "the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be struck with horror, and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment." |
| 10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.” | 10In response to all this I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, 'You will be safe!' But in fact a sword is already at our throats." |
| 11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A searing wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward the daughter of My people, but not to winnow or to sift; | 11"At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, 'A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. |
| 12a wind too strong for that comes from Me. Now I also pronounce judgments against them.” | 12No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.' |
| 13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined! | 13Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles." I cry out, "We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!" |
| 14Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you? | 14"Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil so that you may yet be delivered. How long will you continue to harbor up wicked schemes within you? |
| 15For a voice resounds from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. | 15For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. |
| 16Warn the nations now! Proclaim to Jerusalem: “A besieging army comes from a distant land; they raise their voices against the cities of Judah. | 16They are saying, 'Announce to the surrounding nations, "The enemy is coming!" Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: "Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah."' |
| 17They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against Me,” declares the LORD. | 17They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me," says the LORD. |
| 18“Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!” | 18"The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart." |
| 19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle. | 19I said, "Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! |
| 20Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment. | 20I see one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our tents suddenly destroyed, their curtains torn down in a mere instant. |
| 21How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn? | 21"How long must I see the enemy's battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?" |
| 22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.” | 22The LORD answered, "This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good." |
| 23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light. | 23"I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished. |
| 24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. | 24I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth! |
| 25I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled. | 25I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away. |
| 26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert. All its cities were torn down before the LORD, before His fierce anger. | 26I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger. |
| 27For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction. | 27All this will happen because the LORD said, "The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it. |
| 28Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above will grow dark. I have spoken, I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back.” | 28Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out." |
| 29Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left. | 29At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them. |
| 30And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life. | 30And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you. |
| 31For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!” | 31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, "I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!" |
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