1Hear this word which I utter concerning you,

this dirge, house of Israel:

2She is fallen, to rise no more,

virgin Israel;

She lies abandoned on her land,

with no one to raise her up.a

3For thus says the Lord God

to the house of Israel:

The city that marched out with a thousand

shall be left with a hundred,

Another that marched out with a hundred

shall be left with ten.

4For thus says the Lord*

to the house of Israel:

Seek me, that you may live,b

5but do not seek Bethel;

Do not come to Gilgal,

and do not cross over to Beer-sheba;

For Gilgal shall be led into exile

and Bethel shall be no more.

6* Seek the Lord, that you may live,

lest he flare up against the house of Joseph* like a fire

that shall consume the house of Israel, with no one to quench it.

8The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,

who turns darkness into dawn,

and darkens day into night;

Who summons the waters of the sea,

and pours them out on the surface of the earth;c

9Who makes destruction fall suddenly upon the stronghold

and brings ruin upon the fortress,

the Lord is his name.

7Woe to those who turn justice into wormwood

and cast righteousness to the ground,

10They hate those who reprove at the gate

and abhor those who speak with integrity;

11Therefore, because you tax the destitute

and exact from them levies of grain,

Though you have built houses of hewn stone,

you shall not live in them;

Though you have planted choice vineyards,

you shall not drink their wine.d

12Yes, I know how many are your crimes,

how grievous your sins:

Oppressing the just, accepting bribes,

turning away the needy at the gate.

13(Therefore at this time the wise are struck dumb

for it is an evil time.)

14Seek good and not evil,

that you may live;

Then truly the Lord, the God of hosts,

will be with you as you claim.

15Hate evil and love good,

and let justice prevail at the gate;

Then it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,

will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.e

16Therefore, thus says the Lord,

the God of hosts, the Lord:

In every square there shall be lamentation,

and in every street they shall cry, “Oh, no!”

They shall summon the farmers to wail

and the professional mourners to lament.

17And in every vineyard there shall be lamentation

when I pass through your midst, says the Lord.

18Woe to those who yearn

for the day of the Lord!*

What will the day of the Lord mean for you?

It will be darkness, not light!f

19As if someone fled from a lion

and a bear met him;

Or as if on entering the house

he rested his hand against the wall,

and a snake bit it.

20Truly, the day of the Lord will be darkness, not light,

gloom without any brightness!

21* g I hate, I despise your feasts,

I take no pleasure in your solemnities.

22Even though you bring me your burnt offerings and grain offerings

I will not accept them;

Your stall-fed communion offerings,

I will not look upon them.

23Take away from me

your noisy songs;

The melodies of your harps,

I will not listen to them.

24Rather let justice surge like waters,

and righteousness like an unfailing stream.

25h Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings

for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?i

26Yet you will carry away Sukuth,* your king,

and Kaiwan, your star-image,

your gods that you have made for yourselves,j

27As I exile you beyond Damascus,

says the Lord,

whose name is the God of hosts.