NET Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

1"If you, Israel, want to come back," says the LORD, "if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray.

1"If you will return, O Israel," declares the LORD, "Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver,

2You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives!' If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting."

2And you will swear, 'As the LORD lives,' In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory."

3Yes, the LORD has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.

3For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.

4Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the LORD and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done."

4"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds."

5The LORD said, "Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Shout out loudly, 'Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!'

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, "Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.'

6Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction.

6"Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.

7Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

7"A 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 inhabitant.

8So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, 'The fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us!'"

8"For this, put on sackcloth, Lament and wail; For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us."

9"When this happens," says the LORD, "the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be struck with horror, and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment."

9"It shall come about in that day," declares the LORD, "that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded."

10In response to all this I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, 'You will be safe!' But in fact a sword is already at our throats."

10Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat."

11"At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, 'A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.

11In 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,

12No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.'

12a wind too strong for this-- will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

13Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles." I cry out, "We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!"

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!"

14"Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil so that you may yet be delivered. How long will you continue to harbor up wicked schemes within you?

14Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?

15For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.

15For a voice declares from Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

16They are saying, 'Announce to the surrounding nations, "The enemy is coming!" Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: "Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah."'

16"Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim over Jerusalem, 'Besiegers come from a far country, And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

17They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me," says the LORD.

17'Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about, Because she has rebelled against Me,' declares the LORD.

18"The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart."

18"Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!"

19I said, "Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!

19My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.

20I see one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our tents suddenly destroyed, their curtains torn down in a mere instant.

20Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

21"How long must I see the enemy's battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?"

21How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22The LORD answered, "This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good."

22"For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know."

23"I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

24I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth!

24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.

25I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

25I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

26I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger.

26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

27All this will happen because the LORD said, "The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

27For thus says the LORD, "The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

28Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out."

28"For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it."

29At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them.

29At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is forsaken, And no man dwells in them.

30And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you.

30And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.

31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, "I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!"

31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, "Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers."

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