“If you return, O Israel,
declares the Lord,
ato me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
band do not waver,
2 aand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then bnations shall bless themselves in him,
cand in him shall they glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
a“Break up your fallow ground,
and bsow not among thorns.
4 aCircumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
blest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
cbecause of the evil of your deeds.”
Disaster from the North
5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
a“Blow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
b‘Assemble, and let us go
into the fortified cities!’
6 aRaise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from bthe north,
cand great destruction.
7 aA 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
bwithout inhabitant.
8 For this aput on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for bthe fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned back from us.”
9 “In that day, declares the Lord, acourage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, asurely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from athe bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who aspeak in judgment upon them.”
13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;
ahis chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are bswifter than eagles—
woe to us, cfor we are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, awash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15 For a voice adeclares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from bMount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come afrom a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field aare they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
18 Your ways and your deeds
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and ait is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”
Anguish over Judah’s Desolation
19 aMy 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 aCrash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
bSuddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For amy people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
bThey are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was awithout form and void;
band to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on athe mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 aI looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the afruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before bhis fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; ayet I will not make a full end.
28 a“For this the earth shall mourn,
band the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
cI have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and ano man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
athat you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
bthat you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
cYour lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard aa 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,
bstretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”