1 Hear this word that IkEzek. 19:1 take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 “Fallen, no more to rise,
islLam. 2:1; [Isa. 47:1] the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up. ”
3 For thus says the Lord God :
“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel. ”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
m2 Chr. 15:2; Isa. 55:6; Zeph. 2:3 “Seek me and live;
5 but do not seeknSee ch. 4:4 Bethel,
and do not enter intonSee ch. 4:4 Gilgal
or cross over tooch. 8:14 Beersheba;
fornSee ch. 4:4 Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
andnSee ch. 4:4 Bethel shall come to nothing. ”
6 m[See ver. 4 above] Seek the Lord and live,
p[Isa. 9:18, 19] lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it forn[See ver. 5 above] Bethel,
7 Oq[ch. 6:12] you who turn justice to wormwood1Or to bitter fruit
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made therJob 9:9; 38:31 Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
andsPs. 104:20; [ch. 4:13; 8:9] darkens the day into night,
whotch. 9:6; [Gen. 6:17; Ps. 104:6, 7] calls for the waters of the sea
tch. 9:6; [Gen. 6:17; Ps. 104:6, 7] and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
uSee ch. 4:13 the Lord is his name;
9 v[Jer. 50:32] who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 wIsa. 29:21; [Prov. 15:5, 10] They hate him who reprovesxSee Ruth 4:1 in the gate,
and theyy[1 Kgs. 22:8] abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because youz[James 2:6] trample on1Or you tax the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
aDeut. 28:30, 39; Mic. 6:15; Zeph. 1:13 you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
aDeut. 28:30, 39; Mic. 6:15; Zeph. 1:13 you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, whob1 Sam. 8:3; 12:3; [Ps. 26:10] take a bribe,
andcch. 2:7; Isa. 29:21 turn aside the needyx[See ver. 10 above] in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent willd[Eccles. 3:7] keep silent in such a time,
eMic. 2:3 for it is an evil time.
14 f[Deut. 30:15, 19; Zeph. 2:3] Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord,gch. 3:13 the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 hPs. 97:10; Rom. 12:9 Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justicex[See ver. 10 above] in the gate;
iJoel 2:14; [Ex. 32:30] it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord,g[See ver. 14 above] the God of hosts, the Lord:
“In all the squaresj[Jer. 9:17, 18] there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas! ’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
andj[Jer. 9:17, 18] to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
forkEx. 12:12 I will pass through your midst, ”
says the Lord.
18
Woe to you who desirelSee Joel 1:15 the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
mSee Joel 2:1, 2 It is darkness, and not light,
19 n[Isa. 24:18; Jer. 48:44] as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 m[See ver. 18 above] Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 oIsa. 1:14; [Jer. 6:20] “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 pPs. 51:16, 17; Isa. 1:11 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
toq[ch. 6:5; 8:3; Isa. 5:12] the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 rCited Acts 7:42, 43 Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 s[Deut. 32:17; Ezek. 20:16, 24] Yout[Isa. 46:7] shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 u2 Kgs. 17:6 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus, ” says the Lord, whose name isg[See ver. 14 above] the God of hosts.