1 And the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My soul {nafshi: inner being} is not toward this people; send them away from My face, and let them go out.”
2 And it will happen that when they say to you, “Where shall we go out?” then you shall say to them, “Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Judge}: Whoever is for death, to death; and whoever is for the sword, to the sword; and whoever is for famine, to famine; and whoever is for captivity {shvi: forced exile}, to captivity.”
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds {mishpachot: categories of judgment}, declares the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge}: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to eat and to destroy.
4 And I will give {unetatim: cause to be given over} them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth on account of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem {birushalayim: city of peace}.
5 For who will have compassion on you, O Jerusalem {Yerushalayim: city of peace}? Or who will lament for you? Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare {shalom: complete well-being}?
6 You have forsaken me, declares the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge}; you go backward. Therefore I will stretch out my hand over you and destroy you. I am weary of relenting {hinakhem: restraining judgment}.
7 And I {YHWH, Just Discerner} winnowed them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land; I have bereaved and destroyed my people {ammi: national community} from their ways. They did not return.
8 Their widows {almenotav: bereft of sons} have become more numerous than the sand of the seas; at noon I {YHWH, Just Judge} have brought against the mothers of the young men a destroyer, and I have caused anguish and terrors to fall suddenly upon her.
9 The one who bore seven languishes; she has breathed out her life {nafesh: life force} and her sun has gone down while it is still day. She is ashamed and humiliated. And their remnant I will give to the sword before their enemies, declares the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge}.
10 Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me a man of strife {riv: dispute} and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have they lent to me, yet all of them curse me {mekalleluni: speak evil of}.
11 The LORD {YHWH, Sustaining Defender} said, "Surely I will set you free {sheritikha: loosen you for good}; surely I will cause the enemy to plead with you in the time of evil and in the time of distress."
12 Can iron {barzel: symbol of resilience} break iron from the north and bronze {nechoshet: enduring alloy}?
13 I {YHWH, Executor of Judgment} will give your wealth and your treasures as plunder {lavaz: violent pillage}, without price, because of all your sins and throughout your borders.
14 And I {YHWH, Divine Judge} will make you serve your enemies in a land you have not known, for a fire has been kindled in My anger {api: wrath}, and it shall burn upon you.
15 You have known, O LORD {YHWH, Righteous Avenger}; remember me and visit me, and avenge me against my pursuers. Do not take me away in the length of Your anger; know that for Your sake I bear reproach {kherpah: disgraceful shame}.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word became for me a joy and gladness of my heart {levavi: inner self}; for your name was called upon me, O LORD God of hosts {YHWH Elohei Tzevaot, Supreme Commander}.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of those who joke and celebrate {mesakhakim: those who joke and celebrate}, nor did I rejoice; because of your {YHWH, Judging Authority} hand, I sat alone, for you have filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual, and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You {YHWH, Covenant-Keeper} surely be to me like a deceptive brook {akhzav: unreliable stream}, waters that are not trustworthy?
19 Therefore thus says the LORD {YHWH, Restoring Judge}: If you return, then I will restore you, and you will stand before Me. And if you extract the precious {yakar: valued treasure} from the worthless, you will be like My mouth. They will return to you, but you shall not return to them.
20 And I will make you a fortified wall of bronze {nechoshet: symbol of resilience} for this people; they will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says the LORD {YHWH, Divine Protector}.
21 And I {YHWH, Redeeming Deliverer} will deliver you from the hand of the wicked {ra'im: morally corrupt}, and I will redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.