Jeremiah 3-5
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1 God says, 'If a husband divorces his wife And she leaves him And becomes another man’s wife, Will he return to her again? Would that land not be completely defiled? But you are a prostitute with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me,' declares the Lord. 2'Raise your eyes to the bare heights and see; Where have you not been violated? You have sat for them by the roads Like an Arab in the desert, And you have defiled a land With your prostitution and your wickedness. 3Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a prostitute’s forehead; You refused to be ashamed. 4Have you not just now called to Me, ‘My Father, You are the friend of my youth?
6Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, 'Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there.
7Yet I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and prostituted herself also.
9And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
10Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,' declares the Lord.
12Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not look at you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not be angry forever.
13Only acknowledge your wrongdoing, That you have revolted against the Lord your God, And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every leafy tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
15Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you knowledge and understanding.
16And it shall be in those days when you become numerous and are fruitful in the land,' declares the Lord, 'they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor miss it, nor will it be made again.
17At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will assemble at it, at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; and they will no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil heart.
18In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
20However, as a woman treacherously leaves her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, House of Israel,' declares the Lord.
21A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping, the pleading of the sons of Israel. Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22'Return, you faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.' 'Behold, we come to You; For You are the Lord our God.
24But the shame has consumed the product of our fathers’ labor since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.'
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will spread like fire And burn with no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.'
5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, 'Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let’s go Into the fortified cities.’
6Raise a flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.
7A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant.
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, 'A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness, in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse,
12a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.'
13'Behold, he goes up like clouds, And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!'
14Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem, So that you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16'Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘ Enemies are coming from a remote country, And they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
17Like watchmen of a field they are against her all around, Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!'
19My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, my soul, you have heard The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.
20Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, And my curtains in an instant.
21How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22'For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.'
23I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth.
25I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the birds of the sky had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.
27For this is what the Lord says: 'The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.
28For this the earth will mourn, And the heavens above will become dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I have not changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.'
29At the sound of the horseman and archer every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them.
30And you, desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with makeup, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.
31For I heard a voice cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, 'Ah, woe to me, for I faint before murderers.'
Chapter 5
1'Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, And look and take notice. And seek in her public squares, If you can find a person, If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty, Then I will forgive her. 2And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Certainly they swear falsely.' 3Lord, do Your eyes not look for honesty? You have struck them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent. 4Then I said, 'They are only the poor, They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the judgment of their God. 5I will go to the great And speak to them, For they know the way of the Lord And the judgment of their God.' But together they too have broken the yoke And burst the restraints. 6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their wrongdoings are many, Their apostasies are numerous. 7'Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And stayed at the prostitute’s house. 8They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing at his neighbor’s wife. 9Shall I not punish them for these things?' declares the Lord, 'And shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this? 10'Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction; Strip away her branches, For they are not the Lord’S. 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,' declares the Lord. 12They have lied about the Lord And said, 'Not He; Misfortune will not come upon us, Nor will we see sword or famine. 13The prophets are as wind, And the word is not in them. So it will be done to them!' 14Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says: 'Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words fire in your mouth, And this people wood, and it will consume them. 15Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,' declares the Lord. 'It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. 16Their quiver is like an open grave, All of them are warriors.
18Yet even in those days,' declares the Lord, 'I will not make a complete destruction of you.
19And it shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20'Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Now hear this, you foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
22Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; Though they roar, they will not cross over it.
23But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed.
24They do not say in their heart, 'Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.'
25Your wrongdoings have turned these away, And your sins have kept good away from you.
26For wicked people are found among My people, They watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch people.
27Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.
28They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they may be successful; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord, ‘Or shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?’
30'An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it this way! But what will you do when the end comes?
King James Version
5Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
6The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
7And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
9And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.
11And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.
13Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.
14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
18In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
25We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
Chapter 4
1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
5Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
11At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
21How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
6Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
12They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
13And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
17And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
18Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.
19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Wouldn’t such a land become totally defiled? But you! You have prostituted yourself with many partners — can you return to me? This is the Lord’s declaration. 2Look to the barren heights and see. Where have you not been immoral? You sat waiting for them beside the highways like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. 3This is why the showers haven’t come — why there has been no spring rain. You have the brazen look of a prostitute and refuse to be ashamed. 4Haven’t you recently called to me, "My Father. You were my friend in my youth. 5Will he bear a grudge forever? Will he be endlessly infuriated?" This is what you have said, but you have done the evil things you are capable of.
6In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, "Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
7I thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to me.’ But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.
9Indifferent to her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
14"‘Return, you faithless children —this is the Lord’s declaration—for I am your master, and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
15I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.
16When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days—this is the Lord’s declaration—no one will say again, "The ark of the Lord’s covenant." It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. Another one will not be made.
17At that time Jerusalem will be called The Lord’s Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
18In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.’"
22Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness. "Here we are, coming to you, for you are the Lord our God.
23Surely, falsehood comes from the hills, commotion from the mountains, but the salvation of Israel is only in the Lord our God.
24From the time of our youth the shameful one has consumed what our fathers have worked for— their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our fathers, from the time of our youth even to this day. We have not obeyed the Lord our God."
Chapter 4
1If you return, Israel— this is the Lord’s declaration— you will return to me, if you remove your abhorrent idols from my presence and do not waver, 2then you can swear, "As the Lord lives," in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by him and will pride themselves in him.
3For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up the unplowed ground; do not sow among the thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of your evil deeds.
5Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry out loudly and say: Assemble yourselves, and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6Lift up a signal flag toward Zion. Run for cover! Don’t stand still! For I am bringing disaster from the north— a crushing blow.
7A lion has gone up from his thicket; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to make your land a waste. Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.
8Because of this, put on sackcloth; mourn and wail, for the Lord’s burning anger has not turned away from us.
11"At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to my dear people. It comes not to winnow or to sift;
12a wind too strong for this comes at my call. Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’"
13Look, he advances like clouds; his chariots are like a storm. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
14Wash the evil from your heart, Jerusalem, so that you will be delivered. How long will you harbor malicious thoughts?
15For a voice announces from Dan, proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16Warn the nations: Look! Proclaim to Jerusalem: Those who besiege are coming from a distant land; they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
17They have her surrounded like those who guard a field, because she has rebelled against me. This is the Lord’s declaration.
18Your way and your actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. It is very bitter, because it has reached your heart!
19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in agony! Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds; I cannot be silent. For you, my soul, have heard the sound of the ram’s horn— the shout of battle.
20Disaster after disaster is reported because the whole land is destroyed. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my tent curtains, in a moment.
21How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
22"For my people are fools; they do not know me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good."
23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty. I looked to the heavens, and their light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills shook.
25I looked, and there was no human being, and all the birds of the sky had fled.
26I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness. All its cities were torn down because of the Lord and his burning anger.
27For this is what the Lord says: The whole land will be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.
28Because of this, the earth will mourn; the skies above will grow dark. I have spoken; I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back from it.
29Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and the archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.
30And you, devastated one, what are you doing that you dress yourself in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, that you enhance your eyes with makeup? You beautify yourself for nothing. Your lovers reject you; they intend to take your life.
31I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child. The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands: "Woe is me, for my life is weary because of the murderers!"
Chapter 5
1Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Investigate; search in her squares. If you find one person, any who acts justly, who pursues faithfulness, then I will forgive her. 2When they say, "As the Lord lives," they are swearing falsely. 3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for faithfulness? You have struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They made their faces harder than rock, and they refused to return.
4Then I thought: They are just the poor; they have been foolish. For they don’t understand the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.
5I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. However, these also had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.
6Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down. A wolf from arid plains will ravage them. A leopard stalks their cities. Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces because their rebellious acts are many, their unfaithful deeds numerous.
7Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me and sworn by those who are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery; they gashed themselves at the prostitute’s house.
8They are well-fed, eager stallions, each neighing after someone else’s wife.
9Should I not punish them for these things? This is the Lord’s declaration. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
10Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots, for they do not belong to the Lord.
11They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, have dealt very treacherously with me. This is the Lord’s declaration.
12They have contradicted the Lord and insisted, "It won’t happen. Harm won’t come to us; we won’t see sword or famine."
13The prophets become only wind, for the Lord’s word is not in them. This will in fact happen to them.
15I am about to bring a nation from far away against you, house of Israel. This is the Lord’s declaration. It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
16Their quiver is like an open grave; they are all warriors.
17They will consume your harvest and your food. They will consume your sons and your daughters. They will consume your flocks and your herds. They will consume your vines and your fig trees. With the sword they will destroy your fortified cities in which you trust.
18"But even in those days"—this is the Lord’s declaration—"I will not finish you off.
19When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them, ‘Just as you abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
22Do you not fear me? This is the Lord’s declaration. Do you not tremble before me, the one who set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an enduring barrier that it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot pass over it.
23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.
24They have not said to themselves, ‘Let’s fear the Lord our God, who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring, who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you. Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,
26for wicked men live among my people. They watch like hunters lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.
27Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28They have become fat and sleek. They have also excelled in evil matters. They have not taken up cases, such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper, and they have not defended the rights of the needy.
29Should I not punish them for these things? This is the Lord’s declaration. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
30An appalling, horrible thing has taken place in the land.
31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?
New Living Translation
Chapter 3
1'If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?' says the Lord. 2'Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness. 3That’s why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless. 4Yet you say to me, ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth. 5Surely you won’t be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!’ So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can.'
6During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, 'Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree.
7I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.
8She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution.
9Israel treated it all so lightly — she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.
10But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!'
12Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: 'O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.
13Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!
14'Return home, you wayward children,' says the Lord, 'for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel — one from this town and two from that family — from wherever you are scattered.
15And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
16And when your land is once more filled with people,' says the Lord, 'you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.
17In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.
18In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever.
19'I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land — the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.
20But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.'
22'My wayward children,' says the Lord, 'come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.' 'Yes, we’re coming,' the people reply, 'for you are the Lord our God.
23Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.
24From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for — their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters — was squandered on a delusion.
25Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.'
Chapter 4
1'O Israel,' says the Lord, 'if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. 2Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.'
3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: 'Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
4O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
5'Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land: ‘Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!’
6Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem : ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’ For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north.'
7A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. It has left its lair and is headed your way. It’s going to devastate your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, with no one living in them anymore.
8So put on clothes of mourning and weep with broken hearts, for the fierce anger of the Lord is still upon us.
11The time is coming when the Lord will say to the people of Jerusalem, 'My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
12It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction!'
13Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds! His chariots are like whirlwinds. His horses are swifter than eagles. How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!
14O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart that you may be saved. How long will you harbor your evil thoughts?
15Your destruction has been announced from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim.
16'Warn the surrounding nations and announce this to Jerusalem: The enemy is coming from a distant land, raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.
17They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field, for my people have rebelled against me,' says the Lord.
18'Your own actions have brought this upon you. This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!'
19My heart, my heart — I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries.
20Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly my tents are destroyed; in a moment my shelters are crushed.
21How long must I see the battle flags and hear the trumpets of war?
23I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
24I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook.
25I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The towns lay in ruins, crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.
27This is what the Lord says: 'The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
28The earth will mourn and the heavens will be draped in black because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it.'
29At the noise of charioteers and archers, the people flee in terror. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the towns have been abandoned — not a person remains!
30What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing and put on gold jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? Your primping will do you no good! The allies who were your lovers despise you and seek to kill you.
Chapter 5
1'Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,' says the Lord. 'Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city. 2But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!'
4Then I said, 'But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the Lord. They don’t understand God’s laws.
5So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.' But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.
6So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many.
7'How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were full. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the brothels.
8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
9Should I not punish them for this?' says the Lord. 'Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
10'Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines, leaving a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vines, for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11The people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against me,' says the Lord.
12'They have lied about the Lord and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine.
13God’s prophets are all windbags who don’t really speak for him. Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!’'
14Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies says: 'Because the people are talking like this, my messages will flame out of your mouth and burn the people like kindling wood.
15O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,' says the Lord. 'It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand.
16Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty.
17They will devour the food of your harvest; they will devour your sons and daughters. They will devour your flocks and herds; they will devour your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified towns, which you think are so safe.
18Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,' says the Lord.
19And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’
20'Make this announcement to Israel, and say this to Judah:
21Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.
22Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.
23But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned me.
24They do not say from the heart, ‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God, for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’
25Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.
26'Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people.
27Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.
28They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.
29Should I not punish them for this?' says the Lord. 'Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
30A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land —
31the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
English Standard Version
Chapter 3
1 "If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man 's wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord. 2Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom. 3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed. 4Have you not just now called to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth — 5 will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could." 6The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: "Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 7And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 9Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord."
11And the Lord said to me, "Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
12Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, "‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord.
14 Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
15"‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.
17At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
18In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
19"‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.
20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.’"
21A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel 's sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 "Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness." "Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God.
23Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24"But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God."
Chapter 4
1"If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, 2 and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory." 3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds."
5Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, "Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’
6 Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
8For this put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us."
9"In that day, declares the Lord, courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded."
10Then I said, "Ah, Lord God, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life."
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,
12a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them."
13Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles — woe to us, for we are ruined!
14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim.
16Warn the nations that he is coming; announce to Jerusalem, "Besiegers come from a distant land; they shout against the cities of Judah.
17Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
18Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart."
19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20 Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.
21How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22"For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’ — in doing evil! But how to do good they know not."
23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord, "The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
28 "For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back."
29At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.
30And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, "Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers."
Chapter 5
1 Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her. 2 Though they say, "As the Lord lives," yet they swear falsely. 3O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. 4Then I said, "These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. 5I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God." But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. 7 "How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. 8They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor 's wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? 10 "Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the Lord 's. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord. 12They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. 13The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!’" 14Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: "Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. 15 Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors. 17 They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword." 18"But even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. 19And when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’"
20Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah:
21"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.
22 Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away.
24They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you.
26For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.
27Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich;
28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"
30An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:
31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
New International Version
Chapter 3
1"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?" declares the Lord. 2"Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. 3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. 4Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, 5will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can."
6During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there.
7I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
8I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery.
9Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.
10In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the Lord.
12Go, proclaim this message toward the north: " ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever.
13Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ " declares the Lord.
14"Return, faithless people," declares the Lord, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.
15Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
16In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the Lord, "people will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.
17At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
18In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
22"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding." "Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.
23Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our ancestors’ labor— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the Lord our God."
Chapter 4
1"If you, Israel, will return, then return to me," declares the Lord. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast."
3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
5"Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction."
7A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.
8So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us.
9"In that day," declares the Lord, "the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled."
11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse;
12a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
13Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined!
14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16"Tell this to the nations, proclaim concerning Jerusalem: ‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,’ " declares the Lord.
18"Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!"
19Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
20Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
22"My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."
23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
30What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.
31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child— the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, "Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers."
2Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely."
3 Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
4I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.
5So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God." But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.
7"Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife.
9Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
10"Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11The people of Israel and the people of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the Lord.
12They have lied about the Lord; they said, "He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.
13The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them."
14Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says: "Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.
15People of Israel," declares the Lord, "I am bringing a distant nation against you— an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand.
16Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors.
17They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.
18"Yet even in those days," declares the Lord, "I will not destroy you completely.
19And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’
20"Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah:
21Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
22Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away.
24They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’
25Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.
26"Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people.
27Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful
28and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
29Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
30"A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
New King James Version
Chapter 3
1“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the Lord. 2“Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness. 3Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed. 4Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth? 5 Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.”
6The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.
7And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
9So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.
12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.
14“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
15And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
19“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’
20Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
21A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22“Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God.
23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.
24 For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters.
25We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Chapter 4
1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2 And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.”
5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say, ‘Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.”
7 The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant.
8For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned back from us.
9“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord, “ That the heart of the king shall perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall wonder.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’ Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”
11At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, “A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people— Not to fan or to cleanse—
12A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now I will also speak judgment against them.”
13“Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from Dan And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16“Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That watchers come from a far country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18“Your ways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.”
19O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment.
21How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth.
25I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the Lord, By His fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end.
28For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it.
29The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in it.
30“And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; Your lovers will despise you; They will seek your life.
31“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’
Chapter 5
1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her. 2 Though they say, ‘ As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.” 3O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return. 4Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord, The judgment of their God. 5I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the Lord, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased. 7“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. 8 They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. 9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? 10“Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the Lord’s. 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord. 12 They have lied about the Lord, And said, “ It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine. 13And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.”
14Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.
15Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the Lord. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.
16Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword.
18“Nevertheless in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not make a complete end of you.
19And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
22 Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed.
24They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you.
26‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.
27As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30“An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
