| 1 | Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: | |
| 2 | The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. | |
| 3 | For thus says the Lord GOD: "The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel." | |
| 4 | For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek Me and live; | |
| 5 | But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing. | |
| 6 | Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel-- | |
| 7 | You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!" | |
| 8 | He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name. | |
| 9 | He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress. | |
| 10 | They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. | |
| 11 | Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. | |
| 12 | For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. | |
| 13 | Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. | |
| 14 | Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. | |
| 15 | Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. | |
| 16 | Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: "There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing. | |
| 17 | In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you," Says the LORD. | |
| 18 | Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. | |
| 19 | It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! | |
| 20 | Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? | |
| 21 | "I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. | |
| 22 | Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. | |
| 23 | Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. | |
| 24 | But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. | |
| 25 | "Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? | |
| 26 | You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves. | |
| 27 | Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus," Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. | |