1: Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel. 2: The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is cast down upon her land; there is none to raise her up. 3: For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel. 4: For thus saith Jehovah unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live; 5: but seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought. 6: Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el. 7: Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth, 8: [seek him] that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth (Jehovah is his name); 9: that bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress. 10: They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11: Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof. 12: For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins-ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate [from their right]. 13: Therefore he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; for it is an evil time. 14: Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say. 15: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. 16: Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all the broad ways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! Alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to wailing. 17: And in all vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. 18: Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light. 19: As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20: Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? 21: I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22: Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. 23: Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24: But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25: Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26: Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27: Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith Jehovah, whose name is the God of hosts.
