- 1
- Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel:
- 2
- The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise;
she is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.
- 3
- For thus saith the Lord GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, of the house of Israel.
- 4
- For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live;
- 5
- But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.
- 6
- Seek the LORD, and live - lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel -
- 7
- Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast righteousness to the ground;
- 8
- Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and bringeth on the shadow of death in the morning, and darkeneth the day into night;
that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth;
the LORD is His name;
- 9
- That causeth destruction to flash upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress.
- 10
- They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
- 11
- Therefore, because ye trample upon the poor, and take from him exactions of wheat;
ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them, ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine thereof.
- 12
- For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins;
ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom, and that turn aside the needy in the gate.
- 13
- Therefore the prudent doth keep silence in such a time;
for it is an evil time.
- 14
- Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live;
and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.
- 15
- Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
- 16
- Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: Lamentation shall be in all the broad places, and they shall say in all the streets: "Alas!
alas!" and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing.
- 17
- And in all vineyards shall be lamentation;
for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
- 18
- Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!
Wherefore would ye have the day of the LORD?
It is darkness, and not light.
- 19
- As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him;
and went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
- 20
- Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light?
Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
- 21
- I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
- 22
- Yea, though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meal-offerings, I will not accept them;
neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.
- 23
- Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs;
and let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries.
- 24
- But let justice well up as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
- 25
- Did ye bring unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
- 26
- So shall ye take up Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
- 27
- Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith He, whose name is the LORD God of hosts.
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