4 Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of aJudah and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they brejected the law of the Lord

And have not kept His statutes;

Their 1clies also have led them astray,

Those after which their dfathers walked.

5 “So I will asend fire upon Judah

And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

6 Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of aIsrael and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they bsell the righteous for money

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

7 “These who 1pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the ahelpless

Also bturn aside the way of the humble;

And a cman and his father 2resort to the same 3girl

In order to profane My holy name.

8 “On garments ataken as pledges they stretch out beside bevery altar,

And in the house of their God they cdrink the wine of those who have been fined.

9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the aAmorite before them,

1Though his bheight was like the height of cedars

And he was strong as the oaks;

I even destroyed his cfruit above and his root below.

10 “It was I who abrought you up from the land of Egypt,

And I led you in the wilderness bforty years

1That you might take possession of the land of the cAmorite.

11 “Then I araised up some of your sons to be prophets

And some of your young men to be bNazirites.

Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.

12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You ashall not prophesy!’

13 “Behold, I am 1aweighted down beneath you

As a wagon 2is weighted down when filled with sheaves.

14 “1aFlight will perish from the swift,

And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,

Nor the bmighty man save his 2life.

15 “He who agrasps the bow will not stand his ground,

The swift of foot will not escape,

Nor will he who rides the bhorse save his 1life.

16 “Even the 1bravest among the warriors will aflee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.