| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 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, 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 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." | 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." |
| 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. | 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, 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. | 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." |
| 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!' | 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 the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even 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 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. | 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, lament 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 the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled." | 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, "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!" | 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 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; | 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 pronounce my 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.' |
| 13Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! 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!" |
| 14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? | 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? |
| 15A voice is announcing 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. |
| 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. | 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 own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How 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." |
| 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. | 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 follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter 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 battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? | 21"How long must I see the enemy's battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?" |
| 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." | 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 empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. | 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 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 there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. | 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 towns lay in ruins 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. |
| 27This is what the LORD says: "The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. | 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 grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not 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." |
| 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 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. |
| 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, 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. |
| 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." | 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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