1 “ Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the north, And a great destruction.

¶ O ye sons of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem and blow the shofar in Tekoa and set up as a sign smoke in Bethhaccerem; for evil appears out of the north wind and great destruction.

2 “ The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

I shall liken the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.

3 “ Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will pitch their tents around her, They will pasture each in his place.

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed each one his portion.

4 “ Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us attack at noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up towards the south. Woe unto us! for the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

5 “ Arise, and let us attack by night And destroy her palaces!”

Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

6 F or thus says the Lord of hosts, “ Cut down her trees And cast up a siege against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only oppression.

For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Hew ye down trees and cast a mount against Jerusalem; this is the city that all of her is to be visited; there is violence in the midst of her.

7 “ As a well keeps its waters fresh, So she keeps fresh her wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard in her; Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

As the waters never cease to flow from a fountain, so her wickedness never ceases to flow; injustice and robbery is heard in her; in my presence continually, sickness and wounds.

8 “ Be warned, O Jerusalem, Or I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, A land not inhabited.”

Chastise Jerusalem lest peradventure my soul be disjointed from thee, lest peradventure I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

9 T hus says the Lord of hosts, “They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel; Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer Over the branches.”

¶ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.

10 T o whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

To whom shall I speak, and give warning that they may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken, behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

11 B ut I am full of the wrath of the Lord; I am weary with holding it in. “ Pour it out on the children in the street And on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged and the very old.

Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I have worked hard to hold myself in from pouring it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for the husband with the wife shall also be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

12 “ Their houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.

And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.

13 “ For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them each one is given to greed; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsely.

14 “ They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

They treat also the destruction of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

15 “ Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? no, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore, they shall fall among those that shall fall: at the time that I visit them they shall fall, saith the LORD.

16 T hus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Thus hath the LORD said, Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where the good way is and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 “ And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the shofar. But they said, We will not hearken.

18 “ Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.

¶ Therefore hear, ye Gentiles, and know, O congregation of Gentiles.

19 “ Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts because they have not hearkened unto my words, and they hated my law.

20 “ For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

To what purpose does this incense come to me from Sheba and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not according to my will, nor are your sacrifices sweet unto me.

21 T herefore, thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and friend will perish.” The Enemy from the North

Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

22 T hus says the Lord, “Behold, a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

Thus hath the LORD said, Behold, a people come from the land of the north wind, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

23 “ They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and they shall have no mercy; their voice shall roar like the sea; and they shall ride upon horses set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

24 W e have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

We have heard the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail.

25 D o not go out into the field And do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, Terror is on every side.

Do not go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.

O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.

27 “ I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way.”

I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people; thou shalt know and examine their way.

28 A ll of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt.

They are all rebellious princes; they walk with deception: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

29 T he bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated.

The bellows are burned; the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melts in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away.

30 T hey call them rejected silver, Because the Lord has rejected them.

Reprobate silver shall men call them because the LORD has rejected them.