| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1"Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks out of the north; it will bring great destruction. | 1"Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction. |
| 2I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. | 2I will destroy Daughter Zion, so beautiful and delicate. |
| 3Kings will come against it with their armies. They will encamp in siege all around it. Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. | 3Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion." |
| 4They will say, 'Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let's attack it at noon!' But later they will say, 'Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long. | 4"Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long. |
| 5So come on, let's go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.' | 5So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!" |
| 6All of this is because the LORD who rules over all has said: 'Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it. | 6This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. |
| 7As a well continually pours out fresh water so it continually pours out wicked deeds. Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. All I see are sick and wounded people.' | 7As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. |
| 8So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live." | 8Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it." |
| 9This is what the LORD who rules over all said to me: "Those who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine. So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester passing your hand over the branches one last time." | 9This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering grapes." |
| 10I answered, "Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, what the LORD says is offensive to them. They do not like it at all. | 10To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. |
| 11I am as full of anger as you are, LORD, I am tired of trying to hold it in." The LORD answered, "Vent it, then, on the children who play in the street and on the young men who are gathered together. Husbands and wives are to be included, as well as the old and those who are advanced in years. | 11But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. "Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years. |
| 12Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power against those who live in this land," says the LORD. | 12Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land," declares the LORD. |
| 13"That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit. | 13"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. |
| 14They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, 'Everything will be all right!' But everything is not all right! | 14They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. |
| 15Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them," says the LORD. | 15Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD. |
| 16The LORD said to his people: "You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls." But they said, "We will not follow it!" | 16This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' |
| 17The LORD said, "I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying: 'Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!'" But they said, "We will not pay attention!" | 17I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But you said, 'We will not listen.' |
| 18So the LORD said, "Hear, you nations! Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people. | 18Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. |
| 19Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 'Take note! I am about to bring disaster on these people. It will come as punishment for their scheming. For they have paid no attention to what I have said, and they have rejected my law. | 19Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law. |
| 20I take no delight when they offer up to me frankincense that comes from Sheba or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land. I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me. I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.' | 20What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me." |
| 21So, this is what the LORD says: 'I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.' | 21Therefore this is what the LORD says: "I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish." |
| 22"This is what the LORD says: 'Beware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth. | 22This is what the LORD says: "Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. |
| 23Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle to attack you, Daughter Zion.'" | 23They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion." |
| 24The people cry out, "We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby! | 24We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. |
| 25Do not go out into the countryside. Do not travel on the roads. For the enemy is there with sword in hand. They are spreading terror everywhere." | 25Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. |
| 26So I said, "Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us." | 26Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. |
| 27The LORD said to me, "I have made you like a metal assayer to test my people like ore. You are to observe them and evaluate how they behave." | 27"I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. |
| 28I reported, "All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly. | 28They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly. |
| 29The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged. | 29The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. |
| 30They are regarded as 'rejected silver' because the LORD rejects them." | 30They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them." |
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