of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, the goodliest heritage of the nations? and I said, Ye shall call me My father; and shall not turn away from following me. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; for that they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the LORD their God. THE LORD Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. THE PEOPLE Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. But the shameful thing hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day: and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. THE LORD If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, unto me shalt thou return: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed; and thou shalt swear, As the LORD liveth, in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. THE LORD Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fenced cities. Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant. THE PEOPLE For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. THE LORD And it shall come to pass at that day, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. THE PROPHET Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. A CRY TO JUDAH AND JERUSALEM A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse. THE LORD A full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also utter judgements against them. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. THE PEOPLE Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. THE PROPHET O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thine evil thoughts lodge within thee? A VOICE FROM DAN AND THE HILLS OF EPHRAIM Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judaḥ. THE LORD As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reacheth unto thine heart. THE PEOPLE My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? THE LORD For my people is foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 4 VISION I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and before his fierce anger. THE LORD The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have |