The Day of the Lord

18 Woe to you who long

for the day of the Lord!c

Why do you long for the day of the Lord?d

That day will be darkness,e not light.f

19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion

only to meet a bear,g

as though he entered his house

and rested his hand on the wall

only to have a snake bite him.h

20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,i not light—

pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?j

21 “I hate,k I despise your religious festivals;l

your assembliesm are a stench to me.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offeringsn and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.o

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

I will have no regard for them.p

23 Away with the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.q

24 But let justicer roll on like a river,

righteousnesss like a never-failing stream!t

25 “Did you bring me sacrificesu and offerings

forty yearsv in the wilderness, people of Israel?

26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,

the pedestal of your idols,w

the star of your godb—

which you made for yourselves.

27 Therefore I will send you into exilex beyond Damascus,”

says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.y