1Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation , O house of Israel . 2The virgin of Israel is fallen ; she shall no more rise : she is forsaken upon her land ; there is none to raise her up . 3For thus saith the Lord GOD ; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred , and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten , to the house of Israel .
The Call to Seek the Lord
4For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel , Seek ye me, and ye shall live : 5But seek not Beth-el , nor enter into Gilgal , and pass not to Beer-sheba : for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity , and Beth-el shall come to nought . 6Seek the LORD , and ye shall live ; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph , and devour it , and there be none to quench it in Beth-el .
The Justice of God
7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood , and leave off righteousness in the earth , 8Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion , and turneth the shadow of death into the morning , and maketh the day dark with night : that calleth for the waters of the sea , and poureth them out upon the face of the earth : The LORD is his name : 9That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong , so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress . 10They hate him that rebuketh in the gate , and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly . 11Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor , and ye take from him burdens of wheat : ye have built houses of hewn stone , but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards , but ye shall not drink wine of them. 12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins : they afflict the just , they take a bribe , and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right . 13Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time ; for it is an evil time .
The Day of the Lord
14Seek good , and not evil , that ye may live : and so the LORD , the God of hosts , shall be with you, as ye have spoken . 15Hate the evil , and love the good , and establish judgment in the gate : it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph . 16Therefore the LORD , the God of hosts , the Lord , saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets ; and they shall say in all the highways , Alas ! alas ! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning , and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing . 17And in all vineyards shall be wailing : for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD . 18Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD ! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness , and not light . 19As if a man did flee from a lion , and a bear met him; or went into the house , and leaned his hand on the wall , and a serpent bit him. 20Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness , and not light ? even very dark , and no brightness in it?
A Call for True Worship
21I hate , I despise your feast days , and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies . 22Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings , I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts . 23Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs ; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols . 24But let judgment run down as waters , and righteousness as a mighty stream . 25Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years , O house of Israel ? 26But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images , the star of your god , which ye made to yourselves. 27Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus , saith the LORD , whose name is The God of hosts .