1
Flee for safety,z[Judg. 1:21] O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet inaSee 2 Sam. 14:2 Tekoa,
and raise a signal onbNeh. 3:14 Beth-haccherem,
for disaster loomscSee ch. 1:14 out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
dSee 2 Kgs. 19:21 the daughter of Zion.1Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture
3 e[ch. 23:1] Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
fch. 4:17 they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 gch. 22:7; Joel 3:9; [ch. 51:27] “Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attackhch. 15:8 at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces! ”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
i[Deut. 20:20] “Cut down her trees;
j2 Kgs. 19:32; Isa. 37:33; Ezek. 26:8; Luke 19:43 cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must bekLuke 19:44 punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 lIsa. 57:20 As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
mPs. 55:9; Ezek. 7:11, 23 violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
nEzek. 23:18; [Hos. 9:12] lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make youoSee ch. 4:7 a desolation,
an uninhabited land. ”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
p[Deut. 24:21] “They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape-gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches. ”
10 qIsa. 28:9; 53:1 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
r[Ex. 6:12; Acts 7:51] Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
sch. 7:26 they cannot listen;
behold,tch. 20:8 the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
uch. 20:9 I am weary of holding it in.
vch. 9:21 “Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
w[Lam. 2:21] both husband and wifexch. 8:9 shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 yFor ver. 12-15, see ch. 8:10-12 Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land, ”
declares the Lord.
13 z[ch. 31:34; 44:12; Jonah 3:5] “For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyoneaIsa. 56:11 is greedy for unjust gain;
and frombch. 14:18; 23:11; Mic. 3:11; See ch. 5:31 prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying,cch. 4:10; 14:13; 23:17; Ezek. 13:10; Mic. 3:5; [John 14:27] ‘Peace, peace, ’
dIsa. 48:22; 57:21; Ezek. 7:25 when there is no peace.
15 e[ch. 3:3; 8:12] Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
f[ver. 6] at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown, ”
says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord :
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask forgch. 18:15; [Isa. 8:20; Mal. 4:4; Luke 16:29] the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
hMatt. 11:29; [Ps. 116:7] and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it. ’
17 iIsa. 56:10; [Isa. 21:11] I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention tojIsa. 58:1; [ch. 4:19] the sound of the trumpet! ’
But they said,kch. 44:16 ‘We will not pay attention. ’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
lProv. 1:31 the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 mIsa. 1:11 What use to me isnIsa. 43:23; 60:6 frankincense that comes fromoSee 1 Kgs. 10:1 Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
pch. 7:21, 22; 14:12; Ps. 40:6; Isa. 1:11; Amos 5:21 Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord :
qEzek. 3:20 ‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish. ’ ”
22 Thus says the Lord :
rFor ver. 22-24, see ch. 50:41-43 “Behold, a people is comingsSee ch. 1:13 from the north country,
a great nation is stirring fromtch. 25:32; 31:8 the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they areuIsa. 13:9, 18 cruel and have no mercy;
vIsa. 17:12 the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion! ”
24 We have heard the report of it;
wch. 38:4; 49:24; Ezek. 21:7; See 2 Sam. 4:1; Ezek. 7:17 our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
xSee Isa. 13:8 pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
yPs. 31:13; Lam. 2:22; [Job 18:11] terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people,zSee ch. 4:8; Esth. 4:1 put on sackcloth,
andach. 25:34; Ezek. 27:30; [Lam. 3:16; Mic. 1:10] roll in ashes;
bAmos 8:10; Zech. 12:10 make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made youc[ch. 1:18] a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know anddch. 9:7 test their ways.
28 ech. 5:23 They are all stubbornly rebellious,
fch. 9:4; [Lev. 19:16] going about with slanders;
they aregEzek. 22:18, 20 bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 Theg[See ver. 28 above] bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
h[Isa. 1:25] in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 iIsa. 1:22; Ezek. 22:19, 20 Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them. ”