1Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a song of mourning, house of Israel:

2She has fallen, she will not rise again—

The virgin Israel.

She lies unnoticed on her land;

There is no one to raise her up. 3For this is what the Lord [a]GOD says:

“The city which goes forth a thousand strong

Will have a hundred left,

And the one which goes forth a hundred strong

Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

4For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:

“Seek Me so that you may live.

5“But do not [b]resort to Bethel

And do not come to Gilgal,

Nor cross over to Beersheba;

For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity

And Bethel will [c]come to nothing.

6“Seek the LORD so that you may live,

Or He will break through like a fire, [d]house of Joseph,

And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,

7For those who turn justice into wormwood,

And [e]throw righteousness to the earth.”

8He who made the Pleiades and Orion,

And changes deep darkness into morning,

[f]Who also darkens day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

The LORD is His name.

9It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong,

So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10They hate him who rebukes in the [g]gate,

And they despise him who speaks with integrity.

11Therefore because you impose heavy [h]rent on the poor

And take a tribute of grain from them,

Though you have built houses of cut stone,

Yet you will not live in them;

You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

12For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,

You who are hostile to the righteous and accept bribes,

And [i]turn away the poor from justice at the [j]gate.

13Therefore at [k]such a time the prudent person keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

14Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;

And so may the LORD God of armies be with you,

Just as you have said!

15Hate evil, love good,

And establish justice in the [l]gate!

Perhaps the LORD God of armies

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says:

“There is mourning in all the public squares,

And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’

They also call the farmer to mourning

And [m]professional mourners to mourning rites.

17“And in all the vineyards there is mourning,

Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the LORD.

18Woe to you who are longing for the day of the LORD,

For what [n]purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?

It will be darkness and not light;

19As when a man flees from a lion

And a bear confronts him,

[o]Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,

And a snake bites him.

20Will the day of the LORD not be darkness instead of light,

Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21“I hate, I reject your festivals,

Nor do I [p]delight in your festive assemblies.

22“Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen.

23“Take away from Me the noise of your songs;

I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

24“But let justice roll out like waters,

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25“[q]Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? 26You also carried along [r]Sikkuth your king and [s]Kiyyun, your images, [t]the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of armies.