4 “If you, Israel, will return,a

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idolsb out of my sight

and no longer go astray,

2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear,c ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’d

then the nations will invoke blessingse by him

and in him they will boast.f”

3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed groundg

and do not sow among thorns.h

4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,i

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrathj will flare up and burn like firek

because of the evill you have done—

burn with no one to quenchm it.

Disaster From the North

5 “Announce in Judah and proclaimn in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpeto throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’p

6 Raise the signalq to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disasterr from the north,s

even terrible destruction.”

7 A liont has come out of his lair;u

a destroyerv of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay wastew your land.

Your towns will lie in ruinsx

without inhabitant.

8 So put on sackcloth,y

lamentz and wail,

for the fierce angera of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“the king and the officials will lose heart,b

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”c

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceivedd this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’e when the sword is at our throats!”

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching windf from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a windg too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgmentsh against them.”

13 Look! He advances like the clouds,i

his chariotsj come like a whirlwind,k

his horsesl are swifter than eagles.m

Woe to us! We are ruined!n

14 Jerusalem, washo the evil from your heart and be saved.p

How longq will you harbor wicked thoughts?

15 A voice is announcing from Dan,r

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.s

16 “Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,t

raising a war cryu against the cities of Judah.v

17 They surroundw her like men guarding a field,

because she has rebelledx against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

18 “Your own conduct and actionsy

have brought this on you.z

This is your punishment.

How bittera it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!b

I writhe in pain.c

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart poundsd within me,

I cannot keep silent.e

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;f

I have heard the battle cry.g

20 Disaster follows disaster;h

the whole land lies in ruins.i

In an instant my tentsj are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

21 How long must I see the battle standardk

and hear the sound of the trumpet?l

22 “My people are fools;m

they do not know me.n

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.o

They are skilled in doing evil;p

they know not how to do good.”q

23 I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;r

and at the heavens,

and their lights was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;t

all the hills were swaying.

25 I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.u

26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;v

all its towns lay in ruinsw

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.x

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,y

though I will not destroyz it completely.

28 Therefore the earth will mourna

and the heavens above grow dark,b

because I have spoken and will not relent,c

I have decided and will not turn back.d”

29 At the sound of horsemen and archerse

every town takes to flight.f

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.g

All the towns are deserted;h

no one lives in them.

30 What are you doing,i you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewelsj of gold?

Why highlight your eyes with makeup?k

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your loversl despise you;

they want to kill you.m

31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,n

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Ziono gasping for breath,p

stretching out her handsq and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”r