1 I f thou dost turn back, O Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, unto Me turn back, And if thou dost turn aside Thine abominations from My face, Then thou dost not bemoan.

“If you will return, O Israel,” declares the Lord, “ Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver,

2 A nd thou hast sworn -- Jehovah liveth, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And blessed themselves in Him have nations, And in Him they boast themselves.

And you will swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.”

3 F or thus said Jehovah, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow unto the thorns.

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “ Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.

4 B e circumcised to Jehovah, And turn aside the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury go out as fire, and hath burned, And there is none quenching, Because of the evil of your doings.

“ Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5 D eclare in Judah, and in Jerusalem sound, And say ye, `Blow a trumpet in the land,' Call ye fully, and say ye: `Be gathered, and we go in to the fenced city.'

Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “ Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘ Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.’

6 L ift up an ensign Zionward, Strengthen yourselves, stand not still, For evil I am bringing in from the north, And a great destruction.

“Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.

7 G one up hath a lion from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations hath journeyed, He hath come forth from his place To make thy land become a desolation, Thy cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.

“A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins Without inhabitant.

8 F or this, gird on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of Jehovah hath not turned back from us.

“For this, put on sackcloth, Lament and wail; For the fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned back from us.”

9 A nd it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah: `Perish doth the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes, And astonished have been the priests, And the prophets do wonder.'

“It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded.”

10 A nd I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah, Surely thou hast entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace is for you, And struck hath a sword unto the soul!'

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘ You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”

11 A t that time it is said of this people, And of Jerusalem: `A dry wind of high places in the wilderness,' The way of the daughter of My people, (Not for winnowing, nor for cleansing,)

In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse,

12 A full wind from these doth come for Me, Now, also, I speak judgments with them.

a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

13 L o, as clouds he cometh up, And as a hurricane his chariots, Lighter than eagles have been his horses, Wo to us, for we have been spoiled.

“Behold, he goes up like clouds, And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!”

14 W ash from evil thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, Till when dost thou lodge in thy heart Thoughts of thy strength?

Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?

15 F or a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow from mount Ephraim.

For a voice declares from Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

16 M ake ye mention to the nations, Lo, sound ye to Jerusalem: `Besiegers are coming from the land afar off, And they give forth against cities of Judah their voice.

“Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim over Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers come from a far country, And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

17 A s the keepers of a field They have been against her round about, For with Me she hath been rebellious, An affirmation of Jehovah.'

‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about, Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.

18 T hy way and thy doings have done these to thee, This thy vexation, for bitter, For it hath struck unto thy heart.

“Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!” Lament over Judah’s Devastation

19 M y bowels, my bowels! I am pained the walls of my heart, Make a noise for me doth My heart, I am not silent, For the voice of a trumpet I have heard, O my soul -- a shout of battle!

My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.

20 D estruction on destruction is proclaimed, For spoiled hath been all the land, Suddenly spoiled have been my tents, In a moment -- my curtains.

Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

21 T ill when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a trumpet?

How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 F or my people foolish, me they have not known, Foolish sons they, yea, they not intelligent, Wise they to do evil, And to do good they have not known.

“ For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”

23 I looked the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto the heavens, and their light is not.

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I have looked the mountains, And lo, they are trembling. And all the hills moved themselves lightly.

I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I have looked, and lo, man is not, And all fowls of the heavens have fled.

I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 I have looked, and lo, The fruitful place a wilderness, And all its cities have been broken down, Because of Jehovah, Because of the fierceness of His anger.

I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.

27 F or thus said Jehovah: All the land is a desolation, but a completion I make not.

For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

28 F or this doth the land mourn, And black have been the heavens above, because I have spoken -- I have purposed, And I have not repented, Nor do I turn back from it.

“For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”

29 F rom the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, all the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And on cliffs they have gone up, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in them.

At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is forsaken, And no man dwells in them.

30 A nd thou, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.

And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.

31 F or a voice as of a sick woman I have heard, Distress, as of one bringing forth a first-born, The voice of the daughter of Zion, She bewaileth herself, she spreadeth out her hands, `Wo to me now, for weary is my soul of slayers!'

For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”