1  Flee for safety, ^zO people of Benjamin,

from the midst of Jerusalem!

Blow the trumpet in ^aTekoa,

and raise a signal on ^bBeth-haccherem,

for disaster looms ^cout of the north,

and great destruction.

2  The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,

^dthe daughter of Zion.¹

3  ^eShepherds with their flocks shall come against her;

^fthey shall pitch their tents around her;

they shall pasture, each in his place.

4  ^g“Prepare war against her;

arise, and let us attack ^hat noon!

Woe to us, for the day declines,

for the shadows of evening lengthen!

5  Arise, and let us attack by night

and destroy her palaces!”

6  For thus says the Lord of hosts:

ⁱ“Cut down her trees;

^jcast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.

This is the city that must be ^kpunished;

there is nothing but oppression within her.

7  ^lAs a well keeps its water fresh,

so she keeps fresh her evil;

^mviolence and destruction are heard within her;

sickness and wounds are ever before me.

8  Be warned, O Jerusalem,

ⁿlest I turn from you in disgust,

lest I make you ^oa desolation,

an uninhabited land.”

9  Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^p“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine

the remnant of Israel;

like a grape gatherer pass your hand again

over its branches.”

10  ^qTo whom shall I speak and give warning,

that they may hear?

^rBehold, their ears are uncircumcised,

^sthey cannot listen;

behold, ^tthe word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;

they take no pleasure in it.

11  Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;

^uI am weary of holding it in.

^v“Pour it out upon the children in the street,

and upon the gatherings of young men, also;

^wboth husband and wife ^xshall be taken,

the elderly and the very aged.

12  ^yTheir houses shall be turned over to others,

their fields and wives together,

for I will stretch out my hand

against the inhabitants of the land,”

declares the Lord.

13  ^z“For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone ^ais greedy for unjust gain;

and from ^bprophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

14  They have healed the wound of my people lightly,

saying, ^c‘Peace, peace,’

^dwhen there is no peace.

15  ^eWere they ashamed when they committed abomination?

No, they were not at all ashamed;

they did not know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

^fat the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”

says the Lord.

16  Thus says the Lord:

“Stand by the roads, and look,

and ask for ^gthe ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it,

^hand find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17  ⁱI set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Pay attention to ^jthe sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ^k‘We will not pay attention.’

18  Therefore hear, O nations,

and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.

19  Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,

^lthe fruit of their devices,

because they have not paid attention to my words;

and as for my law, they have rejected it.

20  ^mWhat use to me is ⁿfrankincense that comes from ^oSheba,

or sweet cane from a distant land?

^pYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,

nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.

21  Therefore thus says the Lord:

^q‘Behold, I will lay before this people

stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;

fathers and sons together,

neighbor and friend shall perish.’”

22  Thus says the Lord:

^r“Behold, a people is coming ^sfrom the north country,

a great nation is stirring from ^tthe farthest parts of the earth.

23  They lay hold on bow and javelin;

they are ^ucruel and have no mercy;

^vthe sound of them is like the roaring sea;

they ride on horses,

set in array as a man for battle,

against you, O daughter of Zion!”

24  We have heard the report of it;

^wour hands fall helpless;

anguish has taken hold of us,

^xpain as of a woman in labor.

25  Go not out into the field,

nor walk on the road,

for the enemy has a sword;

^yterror is on every side.

26  O daughter of my people, ^zput on sackcloth,

and ^aroll in ashes;

^bmake mourning as for an only son,

most bitter lamentation,

for suddenly the destroyer

will come upon us.

27  “I have made you ^ca tester of metals among my people,

that you may know and ^dtest their ways.

28  ^eThey are all stubbornly rebellious,

^fgoing about with slanders;

they are ^gbronze and iron;

all of them act corruptly.

29  The ^gbellows blow fiercely;

the lead is consumed by the fire;

^hin vain the refining goes on,

for the wicked are not removed.

30  ⁱRejected silver they are called,

for the Lord has rejected them.”

18  The Lord made it known to me and I knew;

then you showed me their deeds.

19  But I was ^alike a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

I did not know ^bit was against me

they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

^clet us cut him off from ^dthe land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20  But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,

who ^etests ^fthe heart and the mind,

^glet me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

1  ^mRighteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

ⁿWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all ^owho are treacherous thrive?

2  You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

^pyou are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3  ^qBut you, O Lord, know me;

^ryou see me, and test my heart toward you.

^sPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for ^tthe day of slaughter.

4  ^uHow long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

^vFor the evil of those who dwell in it

^wthe beasts and the birds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

5  “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in ^xthe thicket of the Jordan?

6  For ^yeven your brothers and the house of your father,

^oeven they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

^zdo not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7  “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned ^amy heritage;

I have given ^bthe beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  ^aMy heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9  Is ^amy heritage to me like ^ca hyena’s lair?

Are the ^cbirds of prey against her all around?

Go, ^dassemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10  Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

^ethey have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11  They have made it a desolation;

desolate, ^uit mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

^fbut no man lays it to heart.

12  Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come,

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

13  ^gThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

^hthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their¹ harvests

ⁱbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”