| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: | 1Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, house of Israel: |
| 2The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. | 2She has fallen; Virgin Israel will never rise again. She lies abandoned on her land with no one to raise her up. |
| 3For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.” | 3For the Lord GOD says: The city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left, and the one that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left in the house of Israel. |
| 4For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; | 4For the LORD says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live! |
| 5But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing. | 5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or journey to Beer-sheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing. |
| 6Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel— | 6Seek the LORD and live, or he will spread like fire throughout the house of Joseph; it will consume everything with no one at Bethel to extinguish it. |
| 7You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” | 7Those who turn justice into wormwood also throw righteousness to the ground. |
| 8He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name. | 8The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth--the LORD is his name. |
| 9He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress. | 9He brings destruction on the strong, and it falls on the fortress. |
| 10They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. | 10They hate the one who convicts the guilty at the city gate, and they despise the one who speaks with integrity. |
| 11Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. | 11Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from him, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. |
| 12For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. | 12For I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable. They oppress the righteous, take a bribe, and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates. |
| 13Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. | 13Therefore, those who have insight will keep silent at such a time, for the days are evil. |
| 14Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. | 14Pursue good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD, the God of Armies, will be with you as you have claimed. |
| 15Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. | 15Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the city gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. |
| 16Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing. | 16Therefore the LORD, the God of Armies, the Lord, says: There will be wailing in all the public squares; they will cry out in anguish in all the streets. The farmer will be called on to mourn, and professional mourners to wail. |
| 17In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the LORD. | 17There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass among you. The LORD has spoken. |
| 18Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. | 18Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! What will the day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light. |
| 19It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! | 19It will be like a man who flees from a lion only to have a bear confront him. He goes home and rests his hand against the wall only to have a snake bite him. |
| 20Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? | 20Won't the day of the LORD be darkness rather than light, even gloom without any brightness in it? |
| 21“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. | 21I hate, I despise, your feasts! I can't stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. |
| 22Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. | 22Even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will have no regard for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle. |
| 23Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. | 23Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. |
| 24But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. | 24But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream. |
| 25“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? | 25"House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to me during the forty years in the wilderness? |
| 26You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves. | 26But you have taken up Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god, images you have made for yourselves. |
| 27Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. | 27So I will send you into exile beyond Damascus." The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name. He has spoken. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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