by Septuagint
[18] In those days the house of Juda, shall come together to the house of Israel, and they shall come, together, from the land of the north, and from all the countries, to the land, which I caused their fathers to inherit. [19] And I said, So be it, Lord, for thou saidst I will set thee among children, and will give thee a choice land, the inheritance of the Almighty God of the Gentiles: and I said, Ye shall call me Father; and ye shall not turn away from me. [20] But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
[21] A voice from the lips was heard, even of weeping and supplication of the children of Israel: for they have dealt unrighteously in their ways, they have forgotten God their Holy One. [22] Turn, ye children that are given to turning, and I will heal your bruises.
Behold, we will be thy servants; for thou art the Lord our God. [23] Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge: but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. [24] But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters. [25] We have lain down in our shame, and our disgrace has covered us: because we and our fathers have sinned before our God, from our youth until this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.
Chapter 4
[1] If Israel will return to me, saith the Lord, he shall return: and if he will remove his abominations out of his mouth, and fear before me, and swear, [2] The Lord lives, with truth, in judgment and righteousness, then shall nations bless by him, and by him they shall praise God in Jerusalem.
[3] For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Break up fresh ground for yourselves, and sow not among thorns. [4] Circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise your hardness of heart, ye men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my wrath go forth as fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your devices.
[5] Declare ye in Juda, and let it be heard in Jerusalem: say ye, Sound the trumpet in the land; cry ye aloud: say ye, Gather yourselves together, and let us enter into the fortified cities. [6] Gather up your wares and flee to Sion: hasten, stay not: for I will bring evils from the north, an great destruction. [7] The lion is gone up from his lair, he has roused himself to the destruction of the nations, and has gone forth out of his place, to make the land desolate; and the cities shall be destroyed, so as to be without inhabitant. [8] For these things gird yourselves with sackclothes, and lament, and howl: for the anger of the Lord is not turned away from you. [9] And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be amazed, and the prophets shall wonder.
[10] And I said, O sovereign Lord, verily thou hast deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace; whereas behold, the sword has reached even to their soul.
[11] At that time they shall say to this people and to Jerusalem, There is a spirit of error in the wilderness: the way of the daughter of my people is not to purity, nor to holiness. [12] But a spirit of full vengeance shall come upon me; and now I declare my judgments against them. [13] Behold, he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are in misery.
[14] Cleanse thine heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved: how long will thy grievous thoughts be within thee? [15] For a voice of one publishing from Dan shall come, and trouble out of mount Ephraim shall be heard of. [16] Remind ye the nations; behold, they are come: proclaim it in Jerusalem, that bands are approaching from a land afar off, and have uttered their voice against the cities of Juda. [17] As keepers of a field, they have surrounded her; because thou, saith the Lord, has neglected me. [18] Thy ways and thy devices have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, for it is bitter, for it has reached to thy heart.
[19] I am pained in my bowels, my bowels, and the sensitive powers of my heart; my soul is in great commotion, my heart is torn: I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of a trumpet, the cry of war, and of distress: it calls on destruction; [20] for all the land is distressed: suddenly my tabernacle is distressed, my curtains have been rent asunder. [21] How long shall I see fugitives, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
[22] For the princes of my people have not known me, they are foolish and unwise children: they are wise to do evil, but how to do good they have not known.
[23] I looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was not; and to the sky, an there was no light in it. [24] I beheld the mountains, and they trembled, and I saw all the hills in commotion. [25] I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared. [26] I saw, and, behold, Carmel was desert, and all the cities were burnt with fire at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his fierce anger they were utterly destroyed.
[27] Thus saith the Lord, The whole land shall be desolate; but I will not make a full end. [28] For these things let the earth mourn, and let the sky be dark above: for I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not turn back from it. [29] The whole land has recoiled from the noise of the horseman and the bent bow; they have gone into the caves, and have hidden themselves in the groves, and have gone up upon the rocks: every city was abandoned, no man dwelt in them. [30] And what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, and adorn thyself with golden ornaments; though thou adorn thine eyes with stibium, thy beauty will be in vain: thy lovers have rejected thee, they seek thy life.
[31] For I have heard thy groaning as the voice of a woman in travail, as of her that brings forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion shall fail through weakness, and she shall lose the strength of her hands, saying, Woe is me! for my soul faints because of the slain.
Chapter 5
[1] Run ye about in the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in her broad places, if ye can find one, if there is any one that does judgment, and seeks faithfulness; and I will pardon them, saith the Lord. [2] The Lord lives, they say; do they not therefore swear falsely? [3] O Lord, thine eyes are upon faithfulness: thou hast scourged them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them; but they would not receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; and they would not return. [4] Then I said, It may be they are poor; for they are weak, for they know not the way of the Lord, or the judgment of God. [5] I will go to the rich men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of God: but, behold, with one consent they have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds.
[6] Therefore has a lion out of the forest smitten them, and a wolf has destroyed them even to their houses, and a leopard has watched against their cities: all that go forth from them shall be hunted: for they have multiplied their ungodliness, they have strengthened themselves in their revoltings. [7] In what way shall I forgive thee for these things? Thy sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: and I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and lodged in harlots’ houses. [8] They became as wanton horses: they neighed each one after his neighbour’s wife. [9] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this.
[10] Go up upon her battlements, and break them down; but make not a full end: leave her buttresses: for they are the Lord’s. [11] For the house of Israel have indeed dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord: the house of Juda also [12] have lied to their Lord, and they have said, These things are not so; no evils shall come upon us; and we shall not see sword or famine. [13] Our prophets became wind, and the word of the Lord was not in them.
[14] Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty, Because ye have spoken this word, behold, I have made my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. [15] Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; a nation the sound of whos
e language one shall not understand. [16] They are all mighty men: [17] and they shall devour you harvest, and your bread; and shall devour your sons, and your daughters; and they shall devour your sheep, and your calves, and devour your vineyards, and your fig-plantations, and your olive yards: and they shall utterly destroy your strong cities, wherein ye trusted, with the sword. [18] And it shall come to pass in those days, saith the Lord thy God, that I will not utterly destroy you.
[19] And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that thou shalt say to them, Because ye served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
[20] Proclaim these things to the house of Jacob, and let them be heard in the house of Juda. [21] Hear ye now these things, O foolish and senseless people; who have eyes, and see not; and have ears, and hear not: [22] will ye not be afraid of me? saith the Lord; and will ye not fear before me, who have set the sand for a bound to the sea, as a perpetual ordinance, and it shall not pass it: yea, it shall rage, but not prevail; and its waves shall roar, but not pass over it.
[23] But this people has a disobedient and rebellious heart; and they have turned aside and gone back: [24] and they have not said in their heart, Let us fear now the Lord our God, who gives us the early and latter rain, according to the season of the fulfillment of the ordinance of harvest, and has preserved it for us. [25] Your transgressions have turned away these things, and your sins have removed good things from you. [26] For among my people were found ungodly men; and they have set snares to destroy men, and have caught them.
[27] As a snare which has been set is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore have they grown great, and become rich: [28] and they have transgressed the rule of judgment; they have not judged the cause of the orphan, nor have they judged the cause of the widow. [29] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
[30] Shocking and horrible deeds have been done on the land; [31] the prophets utter unrighteous prophecies, and the priests have clapped their hands: and my people has loved to have it thus: and what will ye do for the future.
Chapter 6
[1] Strengthen yourselves, ye children of Benjamin, to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sound an alarm with the trumpet in Thecue, and set up a signal over Baethacharma: for evil threatens from the north, and a great destruction is coming. [2] And thy pride, O daughter of Sion, shall be taken away. [3] The shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; and they shall pitch their tents against her round about, and shall feed their flocks each with his hand.
[4] Prepare yourselves for war against her; rise up, and let us go up against her at noon. Woe to us! for the day has gone down, for the shadows of the day fail. [5] Rise, and let us go up against her by night, and destroy her foundations.
[6] For thus saith the Lord, Hew down her trees, array a numerous force against Jerusalem. O false city; there is all oppression in her. [7] As a cistern cools water, so her wickedness cools her, ungodliness and misery shall be heard in her, as continually before her.
[8] Thou shalt be chastened, O Jerusalem, with pain and the scourge, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee a desert land, which shall not be inhabited.
[9] For thus saith the Lord, Glean, glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back your hands as a grape-gatherer to his basket. [10] To whom shall I speak, and testify, that he may hearken? behold, thine ears are uncircumcised, and they shall not be able to hear: behold, the word of the Lord is become to them a reproach, they will not at all desire it.
[11] And I allowed my wrath to come to full, yet I kept it in, and did not utterly destroy them: I will pour it out on the children without, and on the assembly of young men together: for man and woman shall be taken together, the old man with him that is full of days. [12] And their houses shall be turned to others, with their fields and their wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of this land, saith the Lord.
[13] For from the least of them even to the greatest they have all committed iniquity; from the priest even to the false prophet they have all wrought falsely. [14] And they healed the breach of my people imperfectly, making light of it, and saying, Peace, peace, and where is peace? [15] They were ashamed because they failed; yet they were not ashamed as those who are truly ashamed, and they knew not their own disgrace: therefore shall they utterly fall when they do fall, and in the time of visitation shall they perish, said the Lord.
[16] Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths of the Lord; and see what is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find purification for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in them. [17] I have set watchmen over you, saying, Hear ye the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hear it.
[18] Therefore have the nations heard, and they that feed their flocks. [19] Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evils upon this people, even the fruit of their rebellions; for they have not heeded my words, and they have rejected my law. [20] Wherefore do ye bring me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a land afar off? your whole-burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not been pleasant to me. [21] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring weakness upon this people, and the fathers and sons shall be weak together; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
[22] Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people comes from the north, and nations shall be stirred up from the end of the earth. [23] They shall lay hold on bow and spear; the people is fierce, and will have no mercy; their voice is as the roaring sea; they shall array themselves for war against thee as fire on horses and chariots, O daughter of Sion.
[24] We have heard the report of them: our hands are weakened: anguish has seized us, the pangs as of a woman in travail. [25] Go not forth into the field, and walk not in the ways; for the sword of the enemy lingers round about. [26] O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth: sprinkle thyself with ashes; make for thyself pitiable lamentation, as the mourning for a beloved son: for misery will come suddenly upon you.
[27] I have caused thee to be tried among tried nations, and thou shalt know me when I have tried their way. [28] They are all disobedient, walking perversely: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupted. [29] The bellows have failed from the fire, the lead has failed: the silversmith works at his trade in vain; their wickedness is not consumed. [30] Call ye them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them.
Chapter 7
[1] 2 Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judea. [3] Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Correct your ways and your devices, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. [4] Trust not in yourselves with lying words, for they shall not profit you at all, saying, It is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.
[5] For if ye thoroughly correct your ways and your practices, and do indeed execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; [6] and oppress not the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and go not after strange gods to your hurt: [7] then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers of old and for ever.
[8] But whereas ye have trusted in lying words, whereby ye shall not be profited; [9] and ye murder, and commit adultery, and steal, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and are gone after strange gods whom ye know not, [10] so that it is evil with you; yet have ye come, and stood before me in the house, whereon my name is called, and ye have said, We have refrained from doing all these abominations. [11] Is my house, whereon my name is called, a den of robbers in your eyes? And, behold, I have seen it, saith the Lord. [12] For go ye to my place with is in Selo, where I caused my name to dwell before, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
[13] And now, because ye have done all these deeds, and I spoke to you, but ye hearkened not to me; and I called you, but ye answ
ered not; [14] therefore I also will do to the house whereon my name is called, wherein ye trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Selo. [15] And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast away your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim.
[16] Therefore pray not thou for this people, and intercede not for them to be pitied, yea, pray not, and approach me not for them: for I will not hearken unto thee. [17] Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? [18] Their children gather wood, and their fathers kindle a fire, and their women knead dough, to make cakes to the host of heaven; and they have poured out drink-offerings to strange gods, that they might provoke me to anger. [19] Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves, that their faces may be ashamed?
[20] Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, my anger and wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and upon the men, and upon the cattle, and upon every tree of their field, and upon the fruits of the land; and it shall burn, and not be quenched.
[21] Thus saith the Lord, Gather your whole-burnt-offerings with your meat-offerings, and eat flesh. [22] For I spoke not to your fathers, and commanded them not in the day wherein I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, concerning whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifice: [23] but I commanded them this thing, saying, Hear ye my voice, and I will be to you a God, and ye shall be to me a people: and walk ye in all my ways which I shall command you, that it may be well with you. [24] But they hearkened not to me, and their ear gave no heed, but they walked in the imaginations of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward; [25] from the day that their fathers went forth out of the land of Egypt, even until this day. And I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, by day and early in the morning: yea, I sent them, [26] but they hearkened not to me, and their ear gave no heed; and they made their neck harder than their fathers.
