IV. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, areturn unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not bremove. 2 cAnd thou shalt swear, dThe Lord liveth, ein truth, in judgment, and ein righteousness; and fthe nations shall bless themselves in him, and gin him shall they glory. 3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, hBreak up your ifallow ground, and ksow not among thorns. 4 lCircumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: mlest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, mnbecause of the evil of your doings. 5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, oBlow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, pAssemble yourselves, and let us go into qthe defenced cities. 6 rSet up the standard toward Zion: * retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from sthe north, and a great * destruction. 7 tThe lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place uto make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, vwithout an inhabitant. 8 For this wgird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: xfor xythe fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall zwonder. 10 (Then said I, Ah, Lord God! asurely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, bsaying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul). 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem,

cA dry wind of dthe high places ein the wilderness toward the daughter of my people,

Not to fan, nor to cleanse,

12  Even * a full wind from those places shall come unto me:

Now also will I * give sentence against them.

13  Behold, he shall come up as clouds,

And his chariots shall be fas a whirlwind:

His horses are gswifter than eagles.

Woe unto us! hfor we are spoiled.

14  O Jerusalem, iwash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.

How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

15  For ka voice declareth lfrom Dan,

And publisheth affliction from mmount Ephraim.

16  Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem,

That watchers come nfrom a far country,

And give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

17  oAs keepers of a field, are they against her round about;

Because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord.

18  Thy way and thy doings phave procured these things unto thee;

This is thy wickedness, because qit is bitter,

Because it reacheth unto thine heart.

19  rMy bowels, my bowels! I am pained at * my very heart;

sMy heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace,

Because thou hast heard, O my soul, tthe sound of the trumpet, ttthe alarm of war.

20  uDestruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled:

Suddenly are vmy tents spoiled, and vmy curtains in a moment.

21  How long shall I see the standard, and hear tthe sound of the trumpet?

22  For my people is foolish, wthey have not known me;

They are sottish children, and they have none understanding:

xThey are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23  yI beheld the earth, and lo, it was zwithout form, and void;

And the heavens, and athey had no light.

24  I beheld bthe mountains, and lo, they trembled,

And all the hills moved lightly.

25  I beheld, and lo, cthere was no man,

And call the birds of the heavens dwere fled.

26  I beheld, and lo, ethe fruitful place was a wilderness,

And all the cities thereof were broken down

At the presence of the Lord, and by his ffierce anger.

27  For thus hath the Lord said,

The whole land shall be desolate;

Yet gwill I not make a full end.

28  For this hshall the earth mourn, and aithe heavens above be black:

Because I have spoken it, I have purposed it,

And kwill not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

29  The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and lbowmen;

They shall go into thickets, and climb up upon mthe rocks:

Every city shall be forsaken, and nnot a man dwell therein.

30  And owhen thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do?

Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou pdeckest thee with ornaments of gold,

Though thou rentest qthy * face with painting, in vain rshalt thou make thyself fair;

Thy slovers twill despise thee, they will seek thy life.

31  For I have heard a voice as of ua woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child,

The voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that vspreadeth her hands,

wSaying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.