Online Bible

“Seek Me So That You May Live”

Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a ^asong of mourning, house of Israel:2 She has fallen, she will ^anot rise again—The ^bvirgin Israel.She lies unnoticed on her land;There is ^cno one to raise her up.

3 For this is what the Lord ¹GOD says:“The city which goes forth a thousand strongWill have a ^ahundred left,And the one which goes forth a hundred strongWill have ^bten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:“^aSeek Me ^bso that you may live.

5 “But do not ¹resort to ^aBethelAnd do not come to ^bGilgal,Nor cross over to ^cBeersheba;For Gilgal will certainly go into captivityAnd Bethel will ²come to nothing.6 “^aSeek the LORD so that you may live,Or He will break through like a ^bfire, ¹house of Joseph,And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,7 For those who turn ^ajustice into wormwood,And ¹throw righteousness to the earth.”

8 He who made the ^aPleiades and Orion,And ^bchanges deep darkness into morning,¹Who also ^cdarkens day into night,Who ^dcalls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The ^eLORD is His name.9 It is He who ^amakes destruction flash upon the strong,So that ^bdestruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who ^arebukes in the ¹gate,And they ^bdespise him who speaks with integrity.11 Therefore because you impose heavy ¹rent on the poorAnd take a tribute of grain from them,Though you have built ^ahouses of cut stone,Yet you will not live in them;You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will ^bnot drink their wine.12 For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,You who are ^ahostile to the righteous and accept bribes,And ¹turn away the poor from justice at the ²gate.13 Therefore at ¹such a time the prudent person ^akeeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;And so may the LORD God of armies be with you,^aJust as you have said!15 ^aHate evil, love good,And establish justice in the ¹gate!Perhaps the LORD God of armies^bWill be gracious to the ^cremnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says:“There is ^amourning in all the public squares,And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’They also call the ^bfarmer to mourningAnd ¹^cprofessional mourners to mourning rites.

17 “And in all the ^avineyards there is mourning,Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the LORD.

18 Woe to you who are longing for the ^aday of the LORD,For what ¹purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?It will be ^bdarkness and not light;19 As when a man ^aflees from a lionAnd a bear confronts him,¹Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,And a snake bites him.20 Will the day of the LORD not be ^adarkness instead of light,Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I ^areject your festivals,Nor do I ¹^bdelight in your festive assemblies.22 “Even though you ^aoffer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,I will not accept them;And I will not even look at the ^bpeace offerings of your fattened oxen.23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.24 “But let ^ajustice roll out like waters,And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “¹^aDid you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? 26 ^aYou also carried along ¹Sikkuth your king and ²Kiyyun, your images, ³the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of armies.

Seek Me That You May Live

Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral ^alament, O house of Israel:2 She has fallen; she will ^anot rise again—The ^bvirgin Israel.She lies abandoned on her land;There is ^cnone to raise her up.

3 For thus says Lord Yahweh,“The city which goes forth one thousand strongWill have one ^ahundred left,And the one which goes forth one hundred strongWill have ^bten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel,“^aSeek Me ^bthat you may live.

5 “But do not seek ^aBethel,And do not come to ^bGilgal,Nor cross over to ^cBeersheba;For Gilgal will certainly go into ¹exile,And Bethel will become ²evil.6 “^aSeek Yahweh that you may live,Lest He come mightily like a ^bfire, ¹O house of Joseph,And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,7 For those who overturn ^ajustice into wormwoodAnd put righteousness down to the earth.”

8 He who made the ^aPleiades and OrionAnd ^boverturns the shadow of death into morning,¹Who also ^cdarkens day into night,Who ^dcalls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,^eYahweh is His name.9 It is He who ^aflashes forth with devastation upon the strongSo that ^bdevastation comes upon the fortification.

10 They hate him who ^areproves in the ¹gate,And they ^babhor him who speaks with integrity.11 Therefore because you ¹impose heavy rent on the poorAnd take a tribute of grain from them,Though you have built ^ahouses of cut stone,Yet you will not live in them;You have planted desirable vineyards, yet you will ^bnot drink their wine.12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty,You who ^adistress the righteous and take bribesAnd ¹turn aside the needy in the ²gate.13 Therefore at ¹such a time the one with insight ^akeeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, in order that you may live;And thus may Yahweh God of hosts be with you,^aJust as you have said!15 ^aHate evil, love good,And set justice at the ¹gate!Perhaps Yahweh God of hosts^bMay be gracious to the ^cremnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says Yahweh God of hosts, the Lord,“There is ^awailing in all the plazas,And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’They also call the ^bfarmer to mourningAnd ¹^cprofessional weepers to wailing.

17 “And in all the ^avineyards there is wailingBecause I will pass through the midst of you,” says Yahweh.

18 Woe, you who are longing for the ^aday of Yahweh,For what purpose will the day of Yahweh be to you?It will be ^bdarkness and not light;19 As when a man ^aflees from a lionAnd a bear meets him;¹Or he goes home, leans his hand against the wall,And a snake bites him.20 Will not the day of Yahweh be ^adarkness instead of light,Even thick darkness with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I ^areject your feasts,Nor do I ¹^bdelight in your solemn assemblies.22 “Even though you ^aoffer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,I will not accept them;And I will not even look at the ^bpeace offerings of your fatlings.23 “Remove from Me the tumult of your songs;I will not even listen to the melody of your harps.24 “But let ^ajustice roll down like watersAnd righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “¹^aDid you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 ^aYou also carried along ¹Sikkuth your king and ²Kiyyun, your images, ³the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of hosts.