1 Hear ye this
word which I take
up against you, even a
lamentation, O
house of
Israel.
2 The
virgin of
Israel is
fallen; she shall no
more rise: she is
forsaken upon her
land; there is none to raise her
up.
3 For thus
saith the
Lord GOD; The
city that went
out by a
thousand shall
leave an
hundred, and that which went
forth by an
hundred shall
leave ten, to the
house of
Israel.
4 For thus
saith the
LORD unto the
house of
Israel,
Seek ye me, and ye shall
live:
5 But
seek not
Bethel Beyth-#El#, nor
enter into
Gilgal, and
pass not to
Beersheba B@#er: for
Gilgal shall
surely go into
captivity, and
Bethel Beyth-#El# shall come to
nought.
6 Seek the
LORD, and ye shall
live; lest he break
out like
fire in the
house of
Joseph, and
devour it, and there be none to
quench it in
Bethel Beyth-#El#.
7 Ye who
turn judgment to
wormwood, and leave
off righteousness in the
earth,
8 Seek him that
maketh the seven
stars and
Orion, and
turneth the shadow of
death into the
morning, and maketh the
day dark with
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
strengtheneth the
spoiled against the
strong, so that the
spoiled shall
come against the
fortress.
10 They
hate him that
rebuketh in the
gate, and they
abhor him that
speaketh uprightly.
11 Forasmuch therefore as your
treading is upon the
poor, and ye
take from him
burdens 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 of them.
12 For I
know your
manifold transgressions and your
mighty sins: they
afflict the
just, they
take a
bribe, and they turn
aside the
poor in the
gate from their right.
13 Therefore the
prudent shall keep
silence in that
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, shall be with you, as ye have
spoken.
15 Hate the
evil, and
love the
good, and
establish judgment in the
gate: it may be that the
LORD God of
hosts will be
gracious unto the
remnant of
Joseph.
16 Therefore the
LORD, the
God of
hosts, the
Lord,
saith thus;
Wailing shall be in all
streets; and they shall
say in all the
highways,
Alas!
alas! and they shall
call the
husbandman to
mourning, and such as are
skilful of
lamentation to
wailing.
17 And in all
vineyards shall be
wailing: for I will
pass through thee,
saith the
LORD.
18 Woe unto you that
desire the
day of the
LORD! to what
end is it for you? the
day of the
LORD is
darkness, and not
light.
19 As if a
man did
flee from a
lion, and a
bear met him; or
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 feast
days, and I will not
smell in your solemn
assemblies.
22 Though ye
offer me burnt
offerings and your meat
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; for I will not
hear the
melody of thy
viols.
24 But let
judgment run
down as
waters, and
righteousness as a
mighty stream.
25 Have ye
offered unto me
sacrifices and
offerings in the
wilderness forty years, O
house of
Israel?
26 But ye have
borne the
tabernacle of your
Moloch 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 the
LORD, whose
name is The
God of
hosts.