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Sound the trumpet in Tekoa,
raise a signal-fire over Beth-haccherem;
For disaster looms from out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 Though she is beautiful and delicate,
yet I will destroy Daughter Zion.
3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her;
each pasturing in his own portion.
4 “Prepare war against her!
Up! We attack at noon.
Alas for us, for the daylight is fading,
and the evening shadows grow long.
5 Up! Let us attack by night,
and destroy her fortresses!”
6 For this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
“Cut down the trees;
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is a city to be punished.
She is filled with oppression within.
7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her.
Her sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
8 Take heed, O Jerusalem,
lest I turn from you with loathing,
lest I make you a desolation—
a land without inhabitants.”
9 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
“Glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine.
Like one gathering grapes
turn your hand back through the branches.”
10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Behold, their ear is uncircumcised,
so they cannot hear.
Behold, the word of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am filled with the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street,
and on the young men gathered together.
For husband and wife alike will be captured,
the aged and those full of days.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives.
For I will stretch out My hand
against those who dwell in this land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least of them to the greatest,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They offer to heal the wound of My people
as though it was but a minor issue;
they say, ‘Peace, peace!’
when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their awful conduct?
No, they have no shame whatesoever;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
when I punish them,
they will be thrown down,”
declares the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the roadside and look;
inquire about the ancient paths:
ask where the good path is, and walk in it,
then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not!’
17 I appointed watchmen for you, and said:
‘Listen for the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen!’ ”
18 “Therefore listen, O nations,
and know, O congregation,
what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth!
Behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their own schemes,
for they have paid no attention to My words,
and they have rejected My law.
20 Of what use to Me is frankincense from Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am going to lay stumbling blocks before this people.
fathers and sons alike will stumble over them;
neighbours and friends will perish.
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, an army is coming
from the land of the north;
a great nation is stirring
from the remotest regions of the earth.
23 They grasp the bow and the spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.
The sound of them roars like the sea,
as they ride their horses
like men of war set in battle formation
against you, O Daughter Zion.”
24 We have heard reports about them,
and our hands have gone limp.
Anguish has taken hold of us,
pain like that of a woman in labour.
25 Do not go out to the fields;
do not walk on the roads,
for the enemy have swords,
and terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people,
put on sackcloth,
and roll about in ashes.
Mourn as for an only son,
a bitter lamentation;
for suddenly the destroyer
will come on us.
27 “I have appointed you a tester of metals—
a refiner, and My people are the ore.
Therefore you are to assay
and test their ways.
28 They are all stubborn and defiant,
going about to slander.
They are copper mixed with iron;
they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blows fiercely,
and the lead is consumed by fire;
but the refining goes on in vain,
for the wicked are not purged out.
30 So they are called ‘rejected silver’,
because the Lord has rejected them.”