6 aO ye children of Benjamin, bgather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and cblow the trumpet in dTekoa, and set up ea sign of fire in fBeth-haccerem: for evil appeareth gout of the north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a ||comely and hdelicate woman. 3 iThe shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; lthey shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his mplace. 4 nPrepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up oat noon. Woe unto us! for pthe day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. 5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 6 For thus hath the Lord of hosts said, qHew ye down trees, and ||rcast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city sto be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. 7 tAs a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: uvviolence and vspoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. 8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest wmy soul †depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land xnot inhabited.

9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, yThey shall throughly glean zthe remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. 10 aTo whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, btheir ear is uncircumcised, and cthey cannot hearken: behold, dthe word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; eI am weary with holding in: I will pour it out fupon the children abroad, and upon gthe assembly of fhyoung men together: for even the husband with the wife ishall be taken, hthe aged with him that is full of days. 12 And kltheir houses shall be turned unto others, with their lfields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. 13 For mfrom the least of them even unto the greatest of them nevery one is given to covetousness; and ofrom the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 14 They have healed also the †hurt pof the daughter of my people slightly, qsaying, Peace, peace; when rthere is no peace. 15 sWere they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, tthey were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: stherefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. 16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for uthe old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, vand ye shall find wrest for your souls. xBut they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set xxwatchmen over you, ysaying, Hearken to the sound of zthe trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. 18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 aHear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even bthe fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. 20 cTo what purpose cometh there to me dincense from eSheba, and fthe sweet cane from a far country? gyour burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord, ggBehold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus saith the Lord, hBehold, a people cometh from ithe north country, and a great nation kshall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and lspear; they are mcruel, and nhave no mercy; otheir voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the fame thereof: pour hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and qpain, as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and rfear is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, sgird thee with sackcloth, and twallow thyself uin ashes: make thee vmourning, as for an only son, most wbitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. 27 I have set thee for xa tower and ya fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and ztry their way. 28 aThey are all grievous revolters, bwalking with slanders: they are cbrass and iron; they are all dcorrupters. 29 The bellows are burned, cthe lead is consumed of the fire; ethe founder melteth in vain: for fthe wicked are not plucked away. 30 g||Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.