1
Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2
The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up.
3
For thus says the Lord God: "The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel."
4
For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: "Seek Me and live;
5
But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
6
Seek the Lord and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel--
7
You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!"
8
He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The Lord is His name.
9
He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10
They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11
Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
12
For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.