| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem; For disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction. | 1"Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks out of the north; it will bring great destruction. |
| 2I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman. | 2I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. |
| 3The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place.” | 3Kings will come against it with their armies. They will encamp in siege all around it. Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. |
| 4“Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening. | 4They will say, 'Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let's attack it at noon!' But later they will say, 'Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long. |
| 5Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces.” | 5So come on, let's go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.' |
| 6For thus has the LORD of hosts said: “Cut down trees, And build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst. | 6All of this is because the LORD who rules over all has said: 'Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it. |
| 7As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds. | 7As a well continually pours out fresh water so it continually pours out wicked deeds. Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. All I see are sick and wounded people.' |
| 8Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited.” | 8So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live." |
| 9Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.” | 9This is what the LORD who rules over all said to me: "Those who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine. So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester passing your hand over the branches one last time." |
| 10To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it. | 10I answered, "Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, what the LORD says is offensive to them. They do not like it at all. |
| 11Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in. “I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days. | 11I am as full of anger as you are, LORD, I am tired of trying to hold it in." The LORD answered, "Vent it, then, on the children who play in the street and on the young men who are gathered together. Husbands and wives are to be included, as well as the old and those who are advanced in years. |
| 12And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD. | 12Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power against those who live in this land," says the LORD. |
| 13“Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely. | 13"That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit. |
| 14They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. | 14They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, 'Everything will be all right!' But everything is not all right! |
| 15Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD. | 15Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them," says the LORD. |
| 16Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ | 16The LORD said to his people: "You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls." But they said, "We will not follow it!" |
| 17Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ | 17The LORD said, "I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying: 'Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!'" But they said, "We will not pay attention!" |
| 18Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. | 18So the LORD said, "Hear, you nations! Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people. |
| 19Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people— The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it. | 19Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 'Take note! I am about to bring disaster on these people. It will come as punishment for their scheming. For they have paid no attention to what I have said, and they have rejected my law. |
| 20For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.” | 20I take no delight when they offer up to me frankincense that comes from Sheba or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land. I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me. I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.' |
| 21Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.” | 21So, this is what the LORD says: 'I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.' |
| 22Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. | 22"This is what the LORD says: 'Beware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth. |
| 23They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.” | 23Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle to attack you, Daughter Zion.'" |
| 24We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. | 24The people cry out, "We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby! |
| 25Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. | 25Do not go out into the countryside. Do not travel on the roads. For the enemy is there with sword in hand. They are spreading terror everywhere." |
| 26O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. | 26So I said, "Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us." |
| 27“I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way. | 27The LORD said to me, "I have made you like a metal assayer to test my people like ore. You are to observe them and evaluate how they behave." |
| 28They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters; | 28I reported, "All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly. |
| 29The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off. | 29The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged. |
| 30People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.” | 30They are regarded as 'rejected silver' because the LORD rejects them." |
|
