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¹ IF you will repent, O Israel, says the LORD, return to me; and if you will put away your abominations from my presence, then you shall not be carried away.² And you shall swear, The LORD liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the Gentiles shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

³ For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Light your lamp; and sow not among thorns.⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

⁵ Declare in Judah and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the trumpet in the land; cry with a loud voice and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities.⁶ Set up the standard toward Zion; be strong, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.⁷ A powerful king is come up like a lion from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he has gone forth from his country to make your land desolate; and your cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant.⁸ For this gird yourself with sackcloth, mourn and lament; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from you.⁹ And it shall come to pass at that day, says the LORD, that the hearts of kings shall fail, and the hearts of princes; and the priests shall be astonished and the prophets shall wonder.¹⁰ Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God, surely I have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; for I have said, You shall have peace; and behold, the sword reaches into the soul.¹¹ At that time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, As a changing wind in the paths of the wilderness is the way of the daughter of my people, useful neither to fan, nor to cleanse,¹² But a strong wind from those places shall come to me; now also I will pronounce judgment against them.¹³ Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are plundered.¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts remain in you?¹⁵ For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims affliction from mount Ephraim.¹⁶ Make mention to the nations and publish to Jerusalem, Behold, multitudes of Gentiles are coming from a far country, and they shall shout against the cities of Judah.¹⁷ As keepers of the fields are they against her around about, because she has been rebellious against me, says the LORD.¹⁸ Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness; it is bitter, it has reached to your heart.

¹⁹ I am in pain! I am in pain! I suffer in my heart; my heart throbs within me, and does not cease, because my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet and the shouting of war.²⁰ Destruction shall come upon destruction; for the whole land is plundered; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains are fallen down.²¹ How long shall I see fugitives and hear the sound of the trumpet?²² For my people are foolish; they have not known me; they are stupid children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.²³ I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and on the heavens, and they had no light.²⁴ And I looked on the mountains, and, to, they trembled and all the hills were shattered.²⁵ I looked, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.²⁶ I looked, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all its towns were destroyed at the presence of the LORD and before his fierce anger.²⁷ For thus says the LORD God, The whole land shall be desolate; yet I will not make a full end.²⁸ For this the earth shall mourn and the heavens above shall be darkened; because of everything that I have spoken; I have purposed it and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.²⁹ Because of the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, the whole city has fled; enter into the forests and climb up upon the rocks; all towns are deserted and no man dwells therein:³⁰ And you that are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you paint your eyes with kohl, in vain shall you make yourself fair; your lovers have left you and they seek your life.³¹ For I have heard a voice as of a sick woman, and the anguish as of a woman who is in travail to bring forth her child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who is wearied and who spreads her hands, saying. Woe is me! for my soul faints because of my men who are slain.