Add parallel Print Page Options

If thou wilt make teshuvah, O Yisroel, saith Hashem, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thine shikkutzim (abominations) out of My sight, then shalt thou not be moved [to wander].

And thou shalt swear, Chai Hashem, in emes, in mishpat, and in tzedakah; and the Goyim shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory.

For thus saith Hashem to Ish Yehudah and Yerushalayim, Break up your unplowed ground, and sow not among kotzim (thorns).

Circumcise yourselves to Hashem, and take the mohel knife to the arelot of your levav, ye Ish Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim: lest My fury break out like eish, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.

Declare ye in Yehudah, and publish in Yerushalayim; and say, Blow ye the shofar in HaAretz. Cry out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.

Raise up a nes (a banner, a flag pointing to the place of refuge) over Tziyon; take refuge, delay not; for I will bring ra’ah (evil, disaster) from the tzafon (north), and shever gadol (great destruction).

The aryeh (lion) is come up from his thicket, and the Mashkhit Goyim (Destroyer of the Nations, i.e., Babylon) is on his way, he is gone forth from his place to make thy eretz desolate; and thy cities shall be made to lie in ruins, without an inhabitant.

For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the charon af Hashem is not turned away from us.

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Hashem, that the lev HaMelech shall be disheartened, and the lev hasarim; and the kohanim shall be horror-struck, and the nevi’im dumbfounded.

10 Then said I, Adonoi Hashem! Surely Thou hast greatly misled HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, saying, Shalom yeheyeh lachem (Ye shall have shalom); whereas the cherev is near unto the nefesh.

11 At that time shall it be told HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, A ruach tzach (a dry wind, sirocco) from the high places in the midbar toward the Bat Ami [i.e., Yisroel], not to winnow, nor to cleanse,

12 Even a ruach maleh (strong wind) from those places shall come from Me; now also I will pronounce mishpatim against them.

13 Hinei, he [the approaching foe] shall come up like ananim (clouds), and his merkavot shall be like the whirlwind; his susim are swifter than nesharim (eagles). Oy lanu! (Woe unto us!) For we are ruined.

14 O Yerushalayim, wash thine lev from rah, that thou mayest be saved. Ad mosai (how long, how much longer) shall thy sinful machsh’vot lodge within thee?

15 For a kol (voice) declareth from Dan, and publisheth evil tidings from Mt Ephrayim.

16 Tell the Goyim; hinei, spread the news to Yerushalayim, that notzrim (besiegers) come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Yehudah.

17 As shomrim of a sadeh, they are against her all around; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith Hashem.

18 Thy derech and thy deeds have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is mar (bitter), for it hath touched upon thine lev.

19 My innards, my innards! I am pained at my very lev; my lev is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, because thou hast heard, O my nefesh, the kol shofar (sound of the shofar), the teru’at milchamah (battle alarm of war).

20 Shever (destruction) follows after shever; for the whole land lies in ruins; suddenly are my ohalim destroyed, and my canopies rega.

21 Ad mosai (how long) shall I see the nes (banner), and hear the kol shofar?

22 For Ami is foolish, they have not known Me; they are stupid banim, and they have no understanding; they are chachamim to do evil, but to do good they have no da’as.

23 I beheld ha’aretz, and, hinei, it was tohu vavohu [Genesis 1:2]; and HaShomayim—there was no ohr.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, hinei, they quaked, and all the hills had crumbled.

25 I beheld, and, hinei, there was no adam, and kol oph HaShomayim fled away.

26 I beheld, and, hinei, the carmel was a midbar, and all the cities thereof lay in ruins before Hashem, before the charon af Hashem.

27 For thus hath Hashem said, A wasteland shall be kol HaAretz; yet I will not make a complete end of it.

28 For this reason HaAretz shall mourn, and HaShomayim above turn black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not relent, neither will I turn back from it.

29 Kol HaIr shall flee at the noise of the parash and the romeh keshet (the archer); they shall run into thickets, and climb up among the kefim (rocks); every city shall be deserted, and not an ish dwell therein.

30 And thou, O plundered one [Jerusalem], what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with jewelry of zahav, though thou paintest thy eyes with cosmetics, in vain thou adornest thyself; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy nefesh.

31 For I have heard a kol (outcry) like that of a woman in travail, and in labor pain like that of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of Bat Tziyon, that waileth, that stretcheth out her hands, saying, Oy nah li (Woe is me now)! for my nefesh is weary because of murderers.

“If you, Israel, will return,(A)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(B) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings(E) by him
    and in him they will boast.(F)

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground(G)
    and do not sow among thorns.(H)
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,(I)
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath(J) will flare up and burn like fire(K)
    because of the evil(L) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench(M) it.

Disaster From the North

“Announce in Judah and proclaim(N) in Jerusalem and say:
    ‘Sound the trumpet(O) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
    ‘Gather together!
    Let us flee to the fortified cities!’(P)
Raise the signal(Q) to go to Zion!
    Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster(R) from the north,(S)
    even terrible destruction.”

A lion(T) has come out of his lair;(U)
    a destroyer(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins(X)
    without inhabitant.
So put on sackcloth,(Y)
    lament(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger(AA) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”(AC)

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(AD) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(AE) when the sword is at our throats!”

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind(AF) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind(AG) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments(AH) against them.”

13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(AI)
    his chariots(AJ) come like a whirlwind,(AK)
his horses(AL) are swifter than eagles.(AM)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!(AN)
14 Jerusalem, wash(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.(AP)
    How long(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(AR)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(AS)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(AT)
    raising a war cry(AU) against the cities of Judah.(AV)
17 They surround(AW) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(AY)
    have brought this on you.(AZ)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter(BA) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(BB)
    I writhe in pain.(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds(BD) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(BF)
    I have heard the battle cry.(BG)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(BH)
    the whole land lies in ruins.(BI)
In an instant my tents(BJ) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(BK)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?(BL)

22 “My people are fools;(BM)
    they do not know me.(BN)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;(BP)
    they know not how to do good.”(BQ)

23 I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;(BR)
and at the heavens,
    and their light(BS) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;(BT)
    all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.(BU)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(BV)
    all its towns lay in ruins(BW)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(BX)

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,(BY)
    though I will not destroy(BZ) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(CA)
    and the heavens above grow dark,(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(CC)
    I have decided and will not turn back.(CD)

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(CE)
    every town takes to flight.(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.(CG)
All the towns are deserted;(CH)
    no one lives in them.

30 What are you doing,(CI) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels(CJ) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?(CK)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers(CL) despise you;
    they want to kill you.(CM)

31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,(CN)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion(CO) gasping for breath,(CP)
    stretching out her hands(CQ) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”(CR)