16  Therefore the Lord, ithe God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus;

nnWailing shall be in all streets;

And they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas!

And they shall call the husbandman to mourning,

And osuch as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

17  And in all vineyards shall be wailing:

For pI will pass through thee, saith the Lord.

18  qWoe unto you that desire rthe day of the Lord!

To what end is it for you?

sThe day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.

19  tAs 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 ua serpent bit him.

20  sShall not rthe day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?

vEven very dark, and no brightness in it?

21  wI hate, I despise your feast days,

And xI will not ||smell in your ysolemn assemblies.

22  wThough ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, zI will not accept them:

wNeither will I regard the ||apeace offerings of your fat beasts.

23  Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs;

For bI will not hear the melody of thy cviols.

24  dBut let judgment †run down as waters,

And righteousness as ea mighty stream.

25  fHave ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26  But ye have gborne ||the tabernacle of your hMoloch and Chiun your images,

The star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

27  Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity ibeyond kDamascus,

Saith lthe Lord, whose name is mThe God of hosts.