| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel: | 1Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing: |
| 2She has fallen, she will not rise again-- The virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; There is none to raise her up. | 2“The virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, with no one to help her up.” |
| 3For thus says the Lord GOD, "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." | 3The Sovereign LORD says: “When a city sends a thousand men to battle, only a hundred will return. When a town sends a hundred, only ten will come back alive.” |
| 4For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, "Seek Me that you may live. | 4Now this is what the LORD says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live! |
| 5"But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble. | 5Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” |
| 6"Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel, | 6Come back to the LORD and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames. |
| 7For those who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth." | 7You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt. |
| 8He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, 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. | 8It is the LORD who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The LORD is his name! |
| 9It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress. | 9With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses. |
| 10They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity. | 10How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! |
| 11Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine. | 11You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them. |
| 12For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate. | 12For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. |
| 13Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time. | 13So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time. |
| 14Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said! | 14Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. |
| 15Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. | 15Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. |
| 16Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, "There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, 'Alas! Alas!' They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to lamentation. | 16Therefore, this is what the Lord, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, says: “There will be crying in all the public squares and mourning in every street. Call for the farmers to weep with you, and summon professional mourners to wail. |
| 17"And in all the vineyards there is wailing, Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the LORD. | 17There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all,” says the LORD. Warning of Coming Judgment |
| 18Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light; | 18What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the LORD were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. |
| 19As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. | 19In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake. |
| 20Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it? | 20Yes, the day of the LORD will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope. |
| 21"I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. | 21“I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn 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 fatlings. | 22I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. |
| 23"Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. | 23Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. |
| 24"But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | 24Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. |
| 25"Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? | 25“Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? |
| 26"You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. | 26No, you served your pagan gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god—the images you made for yourselves. |
| 27"Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. | 27So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus, ” says the LORD, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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