Dual Panel1“If <0518> you, Israel <03478>, want to come back <07725>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>, “if <0518> you want to come back <07725> to <0413> me you must get <05493> those disgusting idols <08251> out of my sight <06440> and must no <03808> longer go astray <05110>.
2You must be truthful <0571>, honest <04941> and upright <06666> when you take an oath <07650> saying, ‘As surely as the Lord <03068> lives <02416>!’ If you do, the nations <01471> will pray to be as blessed <01288> by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting <01984>.”
3Yes, the Lord <03068> has this <03541> to say <0559> to the people <0376> of Judah <03063> and Jerusalem <03389>: “Like a farmer breaking up <05214> hard unplowed ground <05215>, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns <06975> lest <0408> the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.
4Just as ritual circumcision <04135> cuts away <05493> the foreskin <06190> as an external symbol <0376> of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord <03068> and get rid of everything <03824> that hinders <03824> your commitment to me, people of Judah <03063> and inhabitants <03427> of Jerusalem <03389>. If you do not <06435>, my anger <02534> will blaze up <03318> like a flaming <01197> fire <0784> against you that no one <0369> will be able to extinguish <03518>. That will happen because of the evil <07455> you have done <04611>.”
5The Lord said <05046>, “Announce <08085> this in Judah <03063> and proclaim <0559> it in Jerusalem <03389>: ‘Sound <08628> the trumpet <07782> throughout the land <0776>!’ Shout out <07121> loudly <04390>, ‘Gather together <0622>! Let us flee <0935> into <0413> the fortified <04013> cities <05892>!’
6Raise <05375> a signal flag <05251> that tells people to go to Zion <06726>. Run for safety <05756>! Do not <0408> delay <05975>! For <03588> I <0595> am about to bring <0935> disaster <07451> out of the north <06828>. It will bring great <01419> destruction <07667>.
7Like a lion <0738> that has come up <05927> from its lair <05441> the one who destroys <07843> nations <01471> has set out <05265> from his home base <04725>. He is coming out <03318> to lay <07760> your land <0776> waste <08047>. Your cities <05892> will become ruins <05327> and lie uninhabited <03427>. uninhabited <0369>.
8So put on <02296> sackcloth <08242>! Mourn <05594> and wail <03213>, saying, ‘The fierce <02740> anger <0639> of the Lord <03068> has not <03808> turned away <07725> from <04480> us!’”
9“When <01961> this <01931> happens <03117>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>, “the king <04428> and his officials <08269> will lose <06> their courage <03820>. The priests <03548> will be struck with horror <08074>, and the prophets <05030> will be speechless in astonishment <08539>.”
10In response to all this I said <0559>, “Ah <0162>, Lord <03069> God <0136>, you have surely <0403> allowed <05377> <05377> the people <05971> of Judah and Jerusalem <03389> to be deceived <05377> <05377> by those who say <0559>, ‘You will be <01961> safe <07965>!’ But in fact a sword <02719> is already at <05060> our throats <05315>.”
11“At that <01931> time <06256> the people <05971> of Judah and Jerusalem <03389> will be told <0559>, ‘A scorching <06703> wind <07307> will sweep down <01870> from the hilltops <08205> in the desert <04057> on <01870> my dear <01323> people <05971>. It will not <03808> be a gentle breeze for winnowing <02219> the grain and blowing away the chaff <01305>.
12No, a wind <07307> too strong <04392> for that <0428> will come <0935> at my bidding. Yes, even <01571> now <06258> I <0589>, myself, am calling down <01696> judgment <04941> on <0854> them.’
13Look <02009>! The enemy is approaching <05927> like gathering clouds <06051>. The roar of his chariots <04818> is like that of a whirlwind <05492>. His horses <05483> move more swiftly <07043> than eagles <05404>.” I cry out, “We are doomed <0188>, for <03588> we will be destroyed <07703>!”
14“Oh people of Jerusalem <03389>, purify <03526> your hearts <03820> from evil <07451> so that <04616> you may yet be delivered <03467>. How long <04970> will you continue to harbor up <03885> wicked <0205> schemes <04284> within <07130> you?
15For <03588> messengers are coming, heralding <08085> <05046> <06963> disaster, from the city of Dan <01835> and from the hills <02022> of Ephraim <0669>.
16They are saying, ‘Announce <02142> to the surrounding nations <01471>, “The enemy is coming!” Proclaim <08085> this message to <05921> Jerusalem <03389>: “Those who besiege <05341> cities are coming <0935> from a distant <04801> land <0776>. They are ready to raise <05414> the battle cry <06963> against <05921> the towns <05892> in Judah <03063>.”’
17They will <01961> surround <05439> Jerusalem like men guarding <08104> a field <07704> because <03588> they have rebelled <04784> against me,” says <05002> the Lord <03069>.
18“The way <01870> you have lived and the things you have done <04611> will bring <06213> this <0428> on you. This <02063> is the punishment <07451> you deserve, and it will be painful <04751> indeed. The pain will be so <05704> bad it will pierce <05060> your heart <03820>.”
19I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit <04578> of my stomach <04578>! I writhe in anguish <02342>. Oh, the pain <07023> in my heart <03820>! My heart <03820> pounds <01993> within me. I cannot <03808> keep silent <02790>. For <03588> I hear <08085> the sound <06963> of the trumpet <07782>; the sound of the battle <04421> cry <08643> pierces my soul <05315>!
20I see one destruction <07667> after another <07667> taking place <07121>, so that <03588> the whole <03605> land <0776> lies in ruins <07703>. I see our tents <0168> suddenly <06597> destroyed <07703>, their curtains <03407> torn down in a mere instant <07281>.
21“How <05704> long <04970> must I see <07200> the enemy’s battle flags <05251> and hear <08085> the military signals <06963> of their bugles <07782>?”
22The Lord answered, “This will happen because <03588> my people <05971> are foolish <0191>. They do not <03808> know <03045> me. They are like children <01121> who have no sense <05530>. They have no <03808> understanding <0995>. They <01992> are skilled <02450> at doing evil <07489>. They do not <03808> know <03045> how to do good <03190>.”
23“I looked <07200> at the land <0776> and saw <02009> that it was an empty <0922> wasteland <08414>. I looked up at <0413> the sky <08064>, and its light <0216> had vanished <0369>.
24I looked <07200> at the mountains <02022> and saw <02009> that they were shaking <07493>. All <03605> the hills <01389> were swaying back and forth <07043>!
25I looked <07200> and saw <02009> that there were no <0369> more people <0120>, and that all <03605> the birds <05775> in the sky <08064> had flown away <05074>.
26I looked <07200> and saw <02009> that the fruitful land <03759> had become a desert <04057> and that all <03605> of the cities <05892> had been laid in ruins <05422>. The Lord <03068> had brought this all about because <06440> of his blazing <02740> anger <0639>.
27All this will happen because <03588> the Lord <03068> said <0559>, “The whole <03605> land <0776> will be <01961> desolate <08077>; however, I will not <03808> completely <03617> destroy <06213> it.
28Because <05921> of this <02063> the land <0776> will mourn <056> and the sky <08064> above <04605> will grow black <06937>. For <03588> <05921> I have made <01696> my purpose <02161> known <01696> and I will not <03808> relent <05162> or <03808> turn back <07725> from <04480> carrying it out.”
29At the sound <06963> of the approaching horsemen <06571> and archers <07198> <07411> the people of every <03605> town <05892> will flee <01272>. Some of them will hide <0935> in the thickets <05645>. Others will climb up <05927> among the rocks <03710>. All <03605> the cities <05892> will be deserted <05800>. No <0369> one <0376> will remain <03427> in them <02004>.
30And you <0859>, Zion, city doomed to destruction <07703>, you accomplish <06213> nothing by wearing a beautiful <08144> dress <03847>, decking <05710> yourself out <05710> in jewels <05716> of gold <02091>, and putting on <07167> eye <05869> shadow <06320>! You are making yourself beautiful <03302> for nothing <07723>. Your lovers <05689> spurn <03988> you. They want <01245> to kill <05315> you.
31In fact, I hear <08085> a cry <06963> like that <03588> of a woman in labor, a cry <06963> of anguish <06869> <02470> like that of a woman giving birth <01069> to her first <03709> baby. It is the cry of Daughter <01323> Zion <06726> gasping <03306> for <03588> breath <03306>, reaching out for <03588> help, saying, “I am done in! My life <05315> is ebbing away before these murderers <02026>!”