| New International Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1"If you, Israel, will return, then return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, | 1"If you will return, O Israel," declares the LORD, "Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, |
| 2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast." | 2And you will swear, 'As the LORD lives,' In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory." |
| 3This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. | 3For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. |
| 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done-- burn with no one to quench it. | 4"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds." |
| 5"Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Cry aloud and say: 'Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!' | 5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, "Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.' |
| 6Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction." | 6"Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction. |
| 7A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. | 7"A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins Without inhabitant. |
| 8So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us. | 8"For this, put on sackcloth, Lament and wail; For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us." |
| 9"In that day," declares the LORD, "the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled." | 9"It shall come about in that day," declares the LORD, "that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded." |
| 10Then I said, "Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats!" | 10Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat." |
| 11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; | 11In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people-- not to winnow and not to cleanse, |
| 12a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them." | 12a wind too strong for this-- will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them. |
| 13Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined! | 13"Behold, he goes up like clouds, And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!" |
| 14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? | 14Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you? |
| 15A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. | 15For a voice declares from Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim. |
| 16"Tell this to the nations, proclaim concerning Jerusalem: 'A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah. | 16"Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim over Jerusalem, 'Besiegers come from a far country, And lift their voices against the cities of Judah. |
| 17They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,'" declares the LORD. | 17'Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about, Because she has rebelled against Me,' declares the LORD. |
| 18"Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!" | 18"Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!" |
| 19Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. | 19My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. |
| 20Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. | 20Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant. |
| 21How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? | 21How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet? |
| 22"My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good." | 22"For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know." |
| 23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. | 23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. |
| 24I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. | 24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. |
| 25I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. | 25I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. |
| 26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. | 26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger. |
| 27This is what the LORD says: "The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. | 27For thus says the LORD, "The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction. |
| 28Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back." | 28"For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it." |
| 29At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them. | 29At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is forsaken, And no man dwells in them. |
| 30What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you. | 30And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life. |
| 31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child-- the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, "Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers." | 31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, "Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers." |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | 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 |
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