Online Bible

Judah Threatened with Invasion

“If you will ^areturn, O Israel,” declares the LORD,“Then you should return to Me.And ^bif you will put away your detested things from My presence,And will not waver,2 And you will ^aswear, ‘As the LORD lives,’^bIn truth, in justice and in righteousness;Then the ^cnations will bless themselves in Him,And ^din Him they will glory.”

3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,“¹^aBreak up your fallow ground,And ^bdo not sow among thorns.

4 “^aCircumcise yourselves to the LORDAnd remove the foreskins of your heart,Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,Or else My ^bwrath will go forth like fireAnd burn with ^cnone to quench it,Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,“^aBlow the trumpet in the land;Cry aloud and say,‘^bAssemble yourselves, and let us goInto the fortified cities.’6 “Lift up a ^astandard toward Zion!Seek refuge, do not stand still,For I am bringing ^bevil from the north,And great destruction.7 “A ^alion has gone up from his thicket,And a ^bdestroyer of nations has set out;He has gone out from his placeTo ^cmake your land a waste.Your cities will be ruinsWithout inhabitant.8 “For this, ^aput on sackcloth,Lament and wail;For the ^bfierce anger of the LORDHas not turned back from us.”

9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the LORD, “that the ^aheart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the ^bprophets will be astounded.”

10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord ¹GOD! Surely You have utterly ^adeceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘^bYou will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the ²throat.”

11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A ^ascorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too strong for ¹this—will come ²at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

13 “Behold, he ^agoes up like clouds,And his ^bchariots like the whirlwind;His horses are ^cswifter than eagles.Woe to us, for ^dwe are ruined!”

14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,That you may be saved.How long will your ^awicked thoughtsLodge within you?15 For a voice declares from ^aDan,And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.16 “Report it to the nations, now!Proclaim over Jerusalem,‘Besiegers come from a ^afar country,And ^blift their voices against the cities of Judah.17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are ^aagainst her round about,Because she has ^brebelled against Me,’ declares the LORD.18 “Your ^aways and your deedsHave ¹brought these things to you.This is your evil. How ^bbitter!How it has touched your heart!”

Lament over Judah’s Devastation

19 ^aMy ¹soul, my ²soul! I am in anguish! ³Oh, my heart!My ^bheart is pounding in me;I cannot be silent,Because ⁴you have heard, O my soul,The ^csound of the trumpet,The alarm of war.20 ^aDisaster on disaster is proclaimed,For the ^bwhole land is devastated;Suddenly my ^ctents are devastated,My curtains in an instant.21 How long must I see the standardAnd hear the sound of the trumpet?22 “^aFor My people are foolish,They know Me not;They are stupid childrenAnd have no understanding.They are shrewd to ^bdo evil,But to do good they do not know.”

23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was ¹^aformless and void;And to the heavens, and they had no light.24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were ^aquaking,And all the hills ¹moved to and fro.25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,And all the ^abirds of the heavens had fled.26 I looked, and behold, ¹the ^afruitful land was a wilderness,And all its cities were pulled downBefore the LORD, before His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the LORD,“The ^awhole land shall be a desolation,Yet I will ^bnot execute a complete destruction.28 “For this the ^aearth shall mournAnd the ^bheavens above be dark,Because I have ^cspoken, I have purposed,And I will not ¹change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman ^aevery city flees;They ^bgo into the thickets and climb among the rocks;^cEvery city is forsaken,And no man dwells in them.30 And you, O desolate one, ^awhat will you do?Although you dress in scarlet,Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,Although you ^benlarge your eyes with paint,In vain you make yourself beautiful.Your ¹^clovers despise you;They seek your life.31 For I heard a ¹cry as of a woman in labor,The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,The ²cry of the daughter of Zion ^agasping for breath,^bStretching out her ³hands, saying,“Ah, woe is me, for ⁴I faint before murderers.”