| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. | 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. |
| 2And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.” | 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." |
| 3For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. | 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. |
| 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.” | 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." |
| 5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say, ‘Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’ | 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!' |
| 6Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.” | 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. |
| 7The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. | 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. |
| 8For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us. | 8So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, 'The fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us!'" |
| 9“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the LORD, “That the heart of the king shall perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall wonder.” | 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." |
| 10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’ Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.” | 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." |
| 11At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, “A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people— Not to fan or to cleanse— | 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. |
| 12A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now I will also speak judgment against them.” | 12No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.' |
| 13“Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!” | 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!" |
| 14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? | 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? |
| 15For a voice declares from Dan And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim: | 15For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. |
| 16“Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That watchers come from a far country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah. | 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."' |
| 17Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the LORD. | 17They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me," says the LORD. |
| 18“Your ways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.” | 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." |
| 19O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. | 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! |
| 20Destruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment. | 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. |
| 21How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet? | 21"How long must I see the enemy's battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?" |
| 22“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.” | 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." |
| 23I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. | 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. |
| 24I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. | 24I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth! |
| 25I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. | 25I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away. |
| 26I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. | 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. |
| 27For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. | 27All this will happen because the LORD said, "The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it. |
| 28For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. | 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." |
| 29The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in 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. |
| 30“And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; Your lovers will despise you; They will seek your life. | 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. |
| 31“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’ | 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!" |
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