“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3  ^ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.¹

^gA tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

4  ^hThey decorate it with silver and gold;

ⁱthey fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5  Their idols² are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and ^jthey cannot speak;

^kthey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

^lfor they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6  ^mThere is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

7  ⁿWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

8  ^oThey are both ^pstupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9  ^qBeaten silver is brought from ^rTarshish,

and gold from ^sUphaz.

^qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

^tthey are all the work of skilled men.

10  ^uBut the Lord is the true God;

^vhe is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

12  ^yIt is he who ^zmade the earth by his power,

^zwho established the world by his wisdom,

and ^aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  ^bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

^cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

^cHe makes lightning ^dfor the rain,

^cand he brings forth the wind ^efrom his storehouses.

14  ^fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;

^gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

^hand there is no breath in them.

15  They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16  Not like these is he who is ⁱthe portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

^jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

^kthe Lord of hosts is his name.

17  ^lGather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18  For thus says the Lord:

^m“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

ⁿand I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19  Woe is me because of my hurt!

^oMy wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20  ^pMy tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

^qand they are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again

and ^pto set up my curtains.

21  ^rFor the shepherds ^sare stupid

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

^tand all their flock is scattered.

22  A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

^ua great commotion out of the north country

to make ^vthe cities of Judah a desolation,

^va lair of jackals.

23  ^wI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  ^xCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

25  ^yPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,

and on the peoples that call not on your name,

^zfor they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.

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.

12  ^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.”

15  Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16  ^fGive glory to the Lord your God

^gbefore he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and ^gwhile you look for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it ^hdeep darkness.

17  But if you will not listen,

ⁱmy soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18  Say to ^jthe king and ^jthe queen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for ^kyour beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19  ^lThe cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20  “Lift up your eyes ^mand see

those who come from the north.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21  What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

ⁿWill not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22  And if you say in your heart,

^o‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that ^pyour skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23  ^qCan the Ethiopian change his skin

or ^qthe leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24  I will scatter you^{1 r}like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25  ^sThis is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because ^tyou have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26  ^pI myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27  I have seen ^uyour abominations,

your adulteries and ^vneighings, your lewd whorings,

^won the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be ^xbefore you are made clean?”

2  ^z“Judah mourns,

and ^aher gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and ^bthe cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3  Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ^cashamed and confounded

and ^dcover their heads.

4  Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is ^eno rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5  Even ^fthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6  ^gThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7  “Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, ^hfor your name’s sake;

ⁱfor our backslidings are many;

^jwe have sinned against you.

8  ^kO you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9  Why should you be like a man confused,

^llike a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet ^myou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and ⁿwe are called by your name;

^odo not leave us.”

10  Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

^ptherefore the Lord does not accept them;

^qnow he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

17  “You shall say to them this word:

^b‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin ^cdaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

^dwith a very grievous blow.

18  ^eIf I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

^eAnd if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

^fFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19  ^gHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

^hso that there is no healing for us?

ⁱWe looked for peace, but no good came;

ⁱfor a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20  ^jWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

^jfor we have sinned against you.

21  Do not spurn us, ^kfor your name’s sake;