14 Seek good, not evil,

that you may live.

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,

just as you say he is.

15 Hate evil, love good;

maintain justice in the courts.

Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy

on the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing in all the streets

and cries of anguish in every public square.

The farmers will be summoned to weep

and the mourners to wail.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: And so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15 Hate 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. 16 Therefore 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.

14 Do what is good and run from evil

so that you may live!

Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,

just as you have claimed.

15 Hate evil and love what is good;

turn your courts into true halls of justice.

Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies

will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

16 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:

“There will be crying in all the public squares

and mourning in every street.

Call for the farmers to weep with you,

and summon professional mourners to wail.

14 Seek good and not evil,

That you may live;

So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,

As you have spoken.

15 Hate evil, love good;

Establish justice in the gate.

It may be that the Lord God of hosts

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:

“There shall be wailing in all streets,

And they shall say in all the highways,

‘Alas! Alas!’

They shall call the farmer to mourning,

And skillful lamenters to wailing.

14 Try to do good, not evil,

so that you will live,

and the Lord God All-Powerful will be with you

just as you say he is.

15 Hate evil and love good;

be fair in the courts.

Maybe the Lord God All-Powerful will be kind

to the people of Joseph who are left alive.

16 This is what the Lord, the Lord God All-Powerful, says:

“People will be crying in all the streets;

they will be saying, ‘Oh, no!’ in the public places.

They will call the farmers to come and weep

and will pay people to cry out loud for them.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all the broad ways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to wailing.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye say. 15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all broadways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

14 Search for good instead of evil so that you may live. 

Then the Lord God of Armies will be with you, as you have said. 

15 Hate evil and love good. 

Then you will be able to have justice in your courts. 

Maybe the Lord God of Armies 

will have pity on the faithful few of Joseph. 

16 This is what the Lord, the Almighty God of Armies, says: 

There will be loud crying in every city square, 

and people will say in every street, “Oh, no!” 

They will call on farmers to mourn 

and on professional mourners to cry loudly. 

14 Seek good and not evil

so that you may live,

and the Lord, the God of Hosts,

will be with you,

as you have claimed.

15 Hate evil and love good;

establish justice in the gate.

Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious

to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore Yahweh, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:

There will be wailing in all the public squares;

they will cry out in anguish in all the streets.

The farmer will be called on to mourn,

and professional mourners to wail.

14 Seek good and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,

just as you have said.

15 Hate evil and love good,

and establish justice in the gate;

it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,

will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:

In all the squares there shall be wailing;

and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! alas!”

They shall call the farmers to mourning,

and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing;

14 Seek good and not bad in order that you may live, and so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. 15 Hate evil and love good and establish justice in the gate; perhaps Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, my Lord, “In all of the public squares there will be wailing, and in all of the streets they will say, ‘Alas, alas!’ They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing, to those who are skilled in lamentation.

14 Look to what is good, not to what is evil.

Then you will live.

And the Lord God who rules over all

will be with you,

just as you say he is.

15 Hate what is evil. Love what is good.

Do what is fair in the courts.

Perhaps the Lord God who rules over all

will show you his favor.

After all, you are the only ones left

in the family line of Joseph.

16 The Lord God rules over all. The Lord says,

“People will sob in all of the streets.

They will be very sad in every market place.

Even farmers will be told to cry loudly.

People will sob over the dead.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live;

And thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you,

Just as you have said!

15 Hate evil, love good,

And establish justice in the gate!

Perhaps the Lord God of hosts

May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,

“There is wailing in all the plazas,

And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’

They also call the farmer to mourning

And professional mourners to lamentation.