1 Hear this word that I {YHWH, Voice of Mourning} am taking up against you as a lamentation, house of Israel {beit yisra'el: covenant community}.
2 The virgin{betulat: fragile nation} of Israel has fallen; she will not rise again. She has been abandoned{nitteshah: left behind} on her land, with no one to raise her.
3 For thus says the Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH, Sovereign Master}: “The city that goes out a thousand will have a hundred left {tashir: caused to remain}, and the one that goes out a hundred will have ten left for the house of Israel.”
4 For thus says the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Lord} to the house of Israel: Seek {darash: diligent pursuit} Me and live.
5 And do not seek Bethel {beit-el: house of God}, do not enter Gilgal, and do not cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will become vanity {aven: worthlessness}.
6 Seek the LORD {YHWH, Life-Giver} and live; lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour it, and none be found to quench it in Bethel {beit-El: house of God}.
7 O you who turn justice into wormwood {la’anah: bitter plant}, and cast down righteousness to the land {erets: ground domain}.
8 The One who makes the Pleiades {kimah: star cluster} and Orion, who turns deep darkness into morning and makes day become night-dark; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the surface of the earth—the LORD {YHWH, Maker of Stars} is His name.
9 The One who makes devastation {shod: sudden outburst} flash forth against the strong, and devastation will come upon the fortress {mivtsar: walled stronghold}.
10 They hated him who rebukes at the gate {sha'ar: judicial assembly}, and they abhor him who speaks uprightly {tamim: blameless integrity}.
11 Therefore, because you trample upon the poor {dal: the powerless} and take from him a burden of grain {mas’at-bar: wheat levy}, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you will not dwell in them; you have planted vineyards of delight, but you will not drink their wine.
12 For I {YHWH, Judge} have known that your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty; you oppress the righteous, you take bribes, and you turn aside the needy at the gate {shaʿar: place of justice}.
13 Therefore the prudent one {hamaskil: wise, insightful person} will remain silent at that time, for it is an evil time {et ra’ah: season of moral corruption}.
14 Seek good {tov: moral excellence} and not evil, so that you may live, and may the LORD God of hosts {YHWH Elohei-tzevaot, Divine Champion} be with you as you have said.
15 Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; perhaps the LORD God of hosts {YHWH Elohei-tsevaot, Divine Warrior} will be gracious to the remnant {sheerit: surviving group} of Joseph.
16 Therefore, thus says the LORD{YHWH Elohei Tsevaot, Judge of All}, the Lord{Adonai, Sovereign Master}: “In every broad place there will be wailing{misped: funeral cries}, and in every street they will cry, ‘Ah! Ah!’ They will call the farmer into mourning, and call for those skilled in lament to take up the wailing.”
17 And in all the vineyards there will be wailing {misped: public lamentation}, for I will pass through your midst, says the LORD {YHWH, Justice Bringer}.
18 Woe to those who desire the day of the LORD {YHWH, Day of Judgment}! Why do you seek the day of the LORD? It is darkness {choshekh: absence of blessing} and not light.
19 As when a man flees from before a lion, and a bear meets him, or he enters the house and leans his hand {yad: gesture of support} upon the wall, and a serpent {nakhash: hidden threat} bites him.
20 Is not the day of the LORD {YHWH, Judgment Advocate} darkness {choshekh: utter blackness} and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I {Yahweh, Judge of Ritual} have hated your festivals {chag: pilgrimage observances}, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
22 For even if you offer burnt offerings{olot: wholly consumed sacrifices} to Me {YHWH, Just Judge}, and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offering of your fattened animals, I will not look upon.
23 Remove from Me {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} the noise {hamon: senseless commotion} of your songs; and the melody of your harps I will not hear.
24 But let justice {mishpat: equitable judgment} roll like waters, and righteousness {tsedaqah: covenant faithfulness} like a mighty stream.
25 Did you bring to Me {YHWH, Righteous Judge} sacrifices {zevachim: cultic offerings} and offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel?
26 You will carry with you Sikkuth{sikkut: idol name} your king, and Kiyyun your images, the star{kokhav: astral emblem} of your god, which you made for yourselves.
27 And I will cause you to go into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD {YHWH, Judge of Nations}, whose name is the God of hosts {Elohei Tsevaot, Commander of Armies}.