1 H ear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 T he virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up.

3 F or 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.” A Call to Repentance

4 F or thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;

5 B ut 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.

6 S eek 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—

7 Y ou who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

8 H e 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.

9 H e rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.

10 T hey hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.

11 T herefore, 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.

12 F or I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.

13 T herefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.

14 S eek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.

15 H ate 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. The Day of the Lord

16 T herefore 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.

17 I n all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the Lord.

18 W oe 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.

19 I t 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!

20 I s not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

21 “ I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.

22 T hough you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.

23 T ake away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.

24 B ut let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.

25 “ Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 Y ou also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.

27 T herefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.