A Lament for Israel
1 Hear this word which Itake 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;
Thereisno one to raise her up.
3 For thus says the LordGod:
“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.”
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says theLordto the house of Israel:
“Seek Meand live;
5 But do not seekBethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over toBeersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
AndBethel shall come to nothing.
6 Seek theLordand live,
Lest He break out like fireinthe house of Joseph,
And devourit,
With no one to quenchitin Bethel—
7 You whoturn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made thePleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
Hecalls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
TheLordisHis 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 theyabhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor
And take grain taxes from him,
Thoughyou 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 Iknow your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the justandtaking bribes;
Diverting the poorfromjusticeat the gate.
13 Thereforethe prudent keep silent at that time,
For itisan evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So theLordGod of hosts will be with you,
As you have spoken.
15 Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
It may be that theLordGod of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
The Day of the Lord
16 Therefore theLordGod of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“Thereshallbewailing 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 vineyardsthereshallbewailing,
ForI will pass through you,”
Says theLord.
18 Woe to you who desire the day of theLord!
For what goodisthe day of theLordto you?
Itwillbedarkness, and not light.
19 Itwillbeas though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Orasthoughhe went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Isnot the day of theLorddarkness, and not light?
Isitnotvery dark, with no brightness in it?
21 “Ihate, I despise your feast days,
AndI do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not acceptthem,
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 “Didyou offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You also carried Sikkuthyour king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into captivitybeyond Damascus,”
Says theLord,whose nameisthe God of hosts.