4  “I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

^gand I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal

and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

5  ^hthose who bow down on the roofs

to the host of the heavens,

ⁱthose who bow down and swear to the Lord

and yet swear by ^jMilcom,¹

6  ^kthose who have turned back from following the Lord,

^lwho do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

7  ^mBe silent before the Lord God!

For ⁿthe day of the Lord is near;

^othe Lord has prepared a sacrifice

and ^pconsecrated his guests.

8  And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice—

^q“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons

and ^rall who array themselves in foreign attire.

9  On that day I will punish

everyone ^swho leaps over the threshold,

and those who fill their master’s² house

with violence and fraud.

10  “On that day,” declares the Lord,

“a cry will be heard from ^tthe Fish Gate,

^ua wail from ^vthe Second Quarter,

a loud crash from the hills.

11  ^wWail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!

For all the traders³ are no more;

all who weigh out silver are cut off.

12  At that time ^xI will search Jerusalem with lamps,

and I will punish the men

^ywho are complacent,⁴

^zthose who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will not do good,

nor will he do ill.’

13  Their goods shall be ^aplundered,

and their houses laid waste.

^bThough they build houses,

they shall not inhabit them;

^cthough they plant vineyards,

they shall not drink wine from them.”

14  ^dThe great day of the Lord is near,

near and hastening fast;

the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;

^ethe mighty man cries aloud there.

15  ^fA day of wrath is that day,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of ^gruin and devastation,

^ha day of darkness and gloom,

^ha day of clouds and thick darkness,

16  ⁱa day of trumpet blast and battle cry

^jagainst the fortified cities

and against the lofty battlements.

1  Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

^fthe oppressing city!

2  She listens to no voice;

^gshe accepts no correction.

^hShe does not trust in the Lord;

she does not draw near to her God.

3  ⁱHer officials within her

are roaring lions;

her judges are ^jevening wolves

that leave nothing till the morning.

4  ^kHer prophets are fickle, treacherous men;

^kher priests ^lprofane what is holy;

they do violence to the law.

5  The Lord within her ^mis righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but ⁿthe unjust knows no shame.

6  ^o“I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in ruins;

I have laid waste their streets

^pso that no one walks in them;

their cities have been made desolate,

without a man, without an inhabitant.

7  ^qI said, ‘Surely you will fear me;

^ryou will accept correction.

Then your¹ dwelling would not be cut off

according to all that I have appointed against you.’²

But ^sall the more they were eager

to make all their deeds corrupt.