1.
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. Explain This Verse
2.
The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. Explain This Verse
3.
For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. Explain This Verse
4.
For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: Explain This Verse
5.
But seek not Beth–el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer–sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth–el shall come to nought. Explain This Verse
6.
Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth–el. Explain This Verse
7.
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, Explain This Verse
8.
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name: Explain This Verse
9.
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. Explain This Verse
10.
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Explain This Verse
11.
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. Explain This Verse
12.
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Explain This Verse
13.
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. Explain This Verse
14.
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Explain This Verse
15.
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Explain This Verse
16.
Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. Explain This Verse
17.
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord. Explain This Verse
18.
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. Explain This Verse
19.
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Explain This Verse
20.
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? Explain This Verse
21.
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Explain This Verse
22.
Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Explain This Verse
23.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. Explain This Verse
24.
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Explain This Verse
25.
Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? Explain This Verse
26.
But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Explain This Verse
27.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts. Explain This Verse