| New King James Version | King James Bible |
| 1Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: | 1Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. |
| 2The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. | 2The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. |
| 3For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.” | 3For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. |
| 4For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; | 4For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: |
| 5But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing. | 5But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. |
| 6Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel— | 6Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. |
| 7You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” | 7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, |
| 8He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name. | 8Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: |
| 9He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress. | 9That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. |
| 10They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. | 10They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. |
| 11Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. | 11Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. |
| 12For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. | 12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. |
| 13Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. | 13Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. |
| 14Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. | 14Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. |
| 15Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. | 15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. |
| 16Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing. | 16Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. |
| 17In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the LORD. | 17And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. |
| 18Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. | 18Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. |
| 19It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! | 19As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. |
| 20Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? | 20Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? |
| 21“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. | 21I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. |
| 22Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. | 22Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. |
| 23Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. | 23Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. |
| 24But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. | 24But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. |
| 25“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? | 25Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? |
| 26You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves. | 26But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. |
| 27Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. | 27Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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