| |
Chapter 4
|
1
|
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return
unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations
out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. |
2
|
And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in
judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall
bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. |
3
|
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,
Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. |
4
|
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the
foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants
of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and
burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of
your doings. |
5
|
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and
say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together,
and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the
defenced cities. |
6
|
Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not:
for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. |
7
|
The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer
of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from
his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall
be laid waste, without an inhabitant. |
8
|
For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl:
for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from
us. |
9
|
And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD,
that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart
of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished,
and the prophets shall wonder. |
10
|
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly
deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall
have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. |
11
|
At that time shall it be said to this people and to
Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness
toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to
cleanse, |
12
|
Even a full wind from those places shall come unto
me: now also will I give sentence against them. |
13
|
Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots
shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than
eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. |
14
|
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that
thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts
lodge within thee? |
15
|
For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction
from mount Ephraim. |
16
|
Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against
Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and
give out their voice against the cities of Judah. |
17
|
As keepers of a field, are they against her round about;
because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the
LORD. |
18
|
Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto
thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because
it reacheth unto thine heart. |
19
|
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart;
my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace,
because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the
trumpet, the alarm of war. |
20
|
Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole
land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my
curtains in a moment. |
21
|
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound
of the trumpet? |
22
|
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they
are sottish children, and they have none understanding:
they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no
knowledge. |
23
|
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and
void; and the heavens, and they had no light. |
24
|
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and
all the hills moved lightly. |
25
|
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds
of the heavens were fled. |
26
|
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence
of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. |
27
|
For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be
desolate; yet will I not make a full end. |
28
|
For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above
be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it,
and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. |
29
|
The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen
and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up
upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not
a man dwell therein. |
30
|
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though
thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest
thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy
face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair;
thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. |
31
|
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail,
and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first
child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth
herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me
now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers. |
