If 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.
02 And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in
truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the
nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him
shall they glory.
03 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah
and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and
sow not among thorns.
04 Circumcise 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.
05 Declare 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.
06 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay
not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a
great destruction.
07 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the
destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is
gone forth from his place to make thy land
desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste,
without an inhabitant.
08 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and
howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not
turned back from us.
09 And 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.
10 Then 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.
11 At 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,
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come
unto me: now also will I give sentence against
them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his
chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are
swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are
spoiled.
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness,
that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy
vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth
affliction from mount Ephraim.
16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold,
publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come
from a far country, and give out their voice
against the cities of Judah.
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17 As keepers of a field, are they against her
round about; because she hath been rebellious
against me, saith the Lord.
18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these
things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because
it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine
heart.
19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very
heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot
hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my
soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the
whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents
spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear
the sound of the trumpet?
22 For 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.
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without
form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no
light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all
the birds of the heavens were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a
wilderness, and all the cities thereof were
broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by
his fierce anger.
27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land
shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full
end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the
heavens above be black; because I have spoken it,
I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither
will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the
horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets,
and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be
forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do?
Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though
thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though
thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain
shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will
despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in
travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth
forth her first child, the voice of the daughter
of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth
her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is
wearied because of murderers.
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