Online Bible

Judah Threatened with Invasion

“If you will ^areturn, Israel,” declares the LORD,“Then you should return to Me.And ^bif you will put away your detestable things from My presence,And will not waver,2 And if 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 boast.”

3 For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:“¹^aBreak up your uncultivated ground,And ^bdo not sow among thorns.

4 “^aCircumcise yourselves to the LORDAnd remove the foreskins of your hearts,Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,Or else My ^bwrath will spread like fireAnd burn with ^cno one 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, and let’s goInto the fortified cities.’6 “Raise a ^aflag toward Zion!Take 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 ruins,Without an inhabitant.8 “For this, ^aput on sackcloth,Mourn and wail;For the ^bfierce anger of the LORDHas not turned away from us.”

9 “And it shall come about on that day,” declares the LORD, “that the ^aheart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the ^bprophets will be astonished.”

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

11 At 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 ¹strong for ²this—will come ³at 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, Jerusalem,So 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 to Jerusalem,‘¹Enemies are coming from a ^aremote country,And ^bthey raise their voices against the cities of Judah.17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are ^aagainst her all around,Because she has ^brebelled against Me,’ declares the LORD.18 “Your ^aways and your deedsHave ¹brought these things upon you.This is your evil. How ^bbitter!How it has touched your heart!”

Grief over Judah’s Devastation

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

23 I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a ¹^aformless and desolate emptiness;And to the heavens, and they had no light.24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were ^aquaking,And all the hills jolted back and forth.25 I looked, and behold, there was no human,And all the ^abirds of the sky 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 this is what the LORD says:“The ^awhole land shall be a desolation,Yet I will ^bnot execute a complete destruction.28 “For this the ^aearth will mourn,And the ^bheavens above will become dark,Because I have ^cspoken, I have purposed,And I have not ¹changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.”29 At the sound of the horseman and archer ^aevery city flees;They ^bgo into the thickets and climb among the rocks;^cEvery city is abandoned,And no one lives in them.30 And you, desolate one, ^awhat will you do?Although you dress in scarlet,Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold,Although you ^benlarge your eyes with makeup,In vain you make yourself beautiful.Your ¹^clovers despise you;They seek your life.31 For I heard a voice cry as of a woman in labor,The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child.The voice of the daughter of Zion ^agasping for breath,^bStretching out her ¹hands, saying,“Ah, woe to me, for ²I faint before murderers.”