Because of the evil of your doings. 5 Declare ye in Judah, And in Jerusalem publish ye, and say; Proclaim throughout, and say, Gather together, and let us enter into the forti fied cities. 6 Set up a standard in Sion, Retire in a body, make no stand; For I am about to bring evil from the north, 7 A lion is gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations is on his way; He is gone forth from his place to make thy land a desolation; Thy cities shall be ruined, so as to be without inhabitant. 8 For this cause gird on sackcloth, lament, and wail, Because the fierce anger of JEHOVAH is not turned away from him. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith JE 10 11 HOVAH, The heart of the king shall fail, and the heart of the princes; And the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. Then said I, Alas! O Lord JEHOVAH! Surely thou hast altogether deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, ye shall have peace; Although the sword penetrateth to the very quick. At that time shall it be said concerning this people, and concerning Jerusalem; A wind that scorcheth the plains in the wilderness [Shall come] toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse; 12 A full wind for a curse shall come at my bidding; Now even I will proceed judicially with them. 13 Behold, like clouds shall he come up, And as a whirlwind his chariots O Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved. 15 For a voice declareth from Dan, And publisheth iniquity from mount Ephraim. 16 Proclaim ye unto the nations, Behold! Publish ye concerning Jerusalem, That watchers are coming from a far country, And they shall lift up their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 Like keepers of fields are they round about her, Because she hath rebelled against me, saith JE HOVAH. 18 Thy way and thy doings have brought a curse upon thee; 19 Such is thy calamity; for it is bitterness; for it is a plague even unto thy heart. My bowels, my bowels are pained, the walls of my heart; My heart is troubled within me; I cannot be Because I have heard the sound of the trumpet, 20 Destruction is come upon the heels of destruction; Surely the whole land is spoiled: On a sudden have my tents been spoiled, 21 How long shall I see the standard? 22 23 Surely my people is foolish, Me have they not known; And they are without understanding: But for doing good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo! disorder and confusion; The heavens also, and there was no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo! they trembled ; And all the hills shook. 25 I beheld, and, lo! there was not a man; And all the fowls of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo! the fruitful field [was become] the desart; 27 And all its cities were thrown down, Before the presence of JEHOVAH, Before the fierce heat of his For thus saith JEHOVAH, anger. The whole land shall become a desolation, 28 For this cause shall the earth mourn, And the heavens shall be covered with blackness; I have purposed, and will not recede from it. 29 At the shout of the horseman, and of the archer, Every city fleeth; They are gone into thick woods, And they have climbed up upon the rocks: Every city is forsaken, And there is not a man dwelling in them. 30 And against spoiling what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself in scarlet, Though thou adornest thyself with ornaments of Though thou distendest thy eyes with paint, They seek thy life. 31 Surely I have heard the cry as of a woman in travail, 1 Distress as of one that bringeth forth a first child, She sobbeth, she spreadeth out her hands, For my soul fainteth because of murderers. CHAP. V. RUN ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And see now and know, and seek in her broad places, If ye can find a single man, If there be one that doeth justice, That seeketh truth; that I may pardon her. 2 But though they say, As JEHOVAH liveth, Surely they will swear falsely. 3 O JEHOVAH, are not thine eyes towards the truth? Thou hast smitten them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; They have made their faces harder than a rock, 4 Then said I, Surely these are the meaner sort, who have acted foolishly, Because they have not known the way of JEHOVAH, The judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great ones, And I will speak unto them; For these have known the way of JEHOVAH, The judgment of their God. But these have in like manner broken the yoke, 6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the plains shall spoil them, A leopard shall watch over their cities; in pieces; Because their rebellions are multiplied, Their apostasies are increased. 7 How can I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken me, And sworn by them that are no gods: When I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, And assembled themselves in the harlot's house. 8 They were libidinous as stallion horses, 9 10 11 Every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy, And make ye not an end; Take away her branches, For they belong not to JEHOVAH. For they have dealt very unfaithfully with me, The house of Israel, and the house of Judah, saith JEHOVAH. 12 They have denied JEHOVAH, |