Yahweh Disciplines Israel
“Flee for safety, O sons of aBenjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over bBeth‑haccerem,
For evil looks down from the cnorth,
As well as great destruction.
2 The comely and adelicate one, bthe daughter of Zion, I will ruin.
3 aShepherds and their flocks will come to her;
They will bpitch their tents around her;
They will pasture each in his place.
4 aSet yourselves apart for war against her;
Arise, and let us go up at bnoon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening stretch out!
5 Arise, and let us go up by night
And adestroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“aCut down her trees
And cast up a bsiege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only coppression.
7 aLike a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her evil.
bViolence and devastation are heard in her;
cSickness and wounds are continually before Me.
8 aHeed discipline, O Jerusalem,
Lest bMy soul become disgusted at you,
Lest I make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”
9 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“They will athoroughly glean as the vine the bremnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their aears are uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, bthe word of Yahweh has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 But I am afull of the wrath of Yahweh;
I am bweary of holding it in.
“cPour it out on the infants in the street
And on the gathering of choice men together;
For both husband and wife shall be captured,
The aged with the one full of days.
12 Their ahouses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together,
For I will bstretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh.
13 “For afrom the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is bgreedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices lying.
14 They have ahealed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 Were they aashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to feel dishonor.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says Yahweh.
16 Thus says Yahweh,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the aancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And byou will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 And I set awatchmen over you, saying,
‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not give heed.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 aHear, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil on this people,
The bfruit of their plans,
Because they have not given heed to My words,
And as for My law, they have crejected it also.
20 aFor what purpose does bfrankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the csweet cane from a distant land?
dYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, aI am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
bFathers and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish.”
Mourn the Coming Destroyer
22 Thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, aa people is coming from the land of the north,
And a great nation will be aroused from the bremote parts of the earth.
23 They take hold of abow and spear;
They are bcruel and have no compassion;
Their voice croars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arranged as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have aheard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
bDistress has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25 aDo not go out into the field
And bdo not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword;
cTerror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, agird yourself with sackcloth
And broll in ashes;
cMourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.
27 “I have amade you a tester of metals and an assayer among My people,
That you may know and test their way.”
28 All of them are rebelliously stubborn,
aGoing about as a slanderer.
They are bbronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely;
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the aevil ones are not separated.
30 aThey call them rejected silver
Because bYahweh has rejected them.