⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb^(G) I knew^[a](H) you,
    before you were born^(I) I set you apart;^(J)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.^(K)”

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
    in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
    and against all the towns of Judah.^(AA)
16 I will pronounce my judgments^(AB) on my people
    because of their wickedness^(AC) in forsaking me,^(AD)
in burning incense to other gods^(AE)
    and in worshiping^(AF) what their hands have made.^(AG)

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,^(AO)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,^(AP)
    through a land not sown.
³ Israel was holy^(AQ) to the Lord,^(AR)
    the firstfruits^(AS) of his harvest;
all who devoured^(AT) her were held guilty,^(AU)
    and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols^(AV)
    and became worthless^(AW) themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt^(AX)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts^(AY) and ravines,^(AZ)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels^(BA) and no one lives?’
⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.^(BB)
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.^(BC)
8 The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;^(BD)
    the leaders^(BE) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,^(BF)
    following worthless idols.^(BG)

⁹ “Therefore I bring charges^(BH) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus^(BI) and look,
    send to Kedar^[c](BJ) and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods^(BK) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious^(BL) God
    for worthless idols.
¹² Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
¹³ “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken^(BM) me,
    the spring of living water,^(BN)
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
¹⁴ Is Israel a servant, a slave^(BO) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
¹⁵ Lions^(BP) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste^(BQ) his land;
    his towns are burned^(BR) and deserted.^(BS)
16 Also, the men of Memphis^(BT) and Tahpanhes^(BU)
    have cracked your skull.
¹⁷ Have you not brought this on yourselves^(BV)
    by forsaking^(BW) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
¹⁸ Now why go to Egypt^(BX)
    to drink water from the Nile^[d]?^(BY)
And why go to Assyria^(BZ)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?^(CA)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding^(CB) will rebuke^(CC) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter^(CD) it is for you
when you forsake^(CE) the Lord your God
    and have no awe^(CF) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

²⁰ “Long ago you broke off your yoke^(CG)
    and tore off your bonds;^(CH)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’^(CI)
Indeed, on every high hill^(CJ)
    and under every spreading tree^(CK)
    you lay down as a prostitute.^(CL)
21 I had planted^(CM) you like a choice vine^(CN)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,^(CO) wild vine?
²² Although you wash^(CP) yourself with soap^(CQ)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.^(CR)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;^(CS)
    I have not run after the Baals’?^(CT)
See how you behaved in the valley;^(CU)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running^(CV) here and there,
²⁴ a wild donkey^(CW) accustomed to the desert,^(CX)
    sniffing the wind in her craving—
    in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
    at mating time they will find her.
²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!^(CY)
    I love foreign gods,^(CZ)
    and I must go after them.’^(DA)

²⁶ “As a thief is disgraced^(DB) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests^(DC) and their prophets.^(DD)
27 They say to wood,^(DE) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,^(DF) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs^(DG) to me
    and not their faces;^(DH)
yet when they are in trouble,^(DI) they say,
    ‘Come and save^(DJ) us!’
²⁸ Where then are the gods^(DK) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!^(DL)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.^(DM)

²⁹ “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all^(DN) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.^(DO)
Your sword has devoured your prophets^(DP)
    like a ravenous lion.

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?^(DQ)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?^(DR)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten^(DS) me,
    days without number.
³³ How skilled you are at pursuing^(DT) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
³⁴ On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood^(DU) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.^(DV)
Yet in spite of all this
³⁵     you say, ‘I am innocent;^(DW)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment^(DX) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’^(DY)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing^(DZ) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt^(EA)
    as you were by Assyria.
³⁷ You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,^(EB)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped^(EC) by them.

4 “If you, Israel, will return,^(A)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols^(B) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
² and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,^(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings^(E) by him
    and in him they will boast.^(F)”

“Break up your unplowed ground^(G)
    and do not sow among thorns.^(H)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,^(I)
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath^(J) will flare up and burn like fire^(K)
    because of the evil^(L) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench^(M) it.

⁷ A lion^(T) has come out of his lair;^(U)
    a destroyer^(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste^(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(X)
    without inhabitant.
⁸ So put on sackcloth,^(Y)
    lament^(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger^(AA) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

⁹ “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,^(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”^(AC)

¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,^(AI)
    his chariots^(AJ) come like a whirlwind,^(AK)
his horses^(AL) are swifter than eagles.^(AM)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(AN)
14 Jerusalem, wash^(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(AP)
    How long^(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,^(AR)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(AS)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(AT)
    raising a war cry^(AU) against the cities of Judah.^(AV)
17 They surround^(AW) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your own conduct and actions^(AY)
    have brought this on you.^(AZ)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(BA) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹ Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^(BB)
    I writhe in pain.^(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds^(BD) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.^(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^(BF)
    I have heard the battle cry.^(BG)
20 Disaster follows disaster;^(BH)
    the whole land lies in ruins.^(BI)
In an instant my tents^(BJ) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
²¹ How long must I see the battle standard^(BK)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?^(BL)

²² “My people are fools;^(BM)
    they do not know me.^(BN)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.^(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;^(BP)
    they know not how to do good.”^(BQ)

²³ I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;^(BR)
and at the heavens,
    and their light^(BS) was gone.
²⁴ I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;^(BT)
    all the hills were swaying.
²⁵ I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.^(BU)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^(BV)
    all its towns lay in ruins^(BW)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^(BX)

“The whole land will be ruined,^(BY)
    though I will not destroy^(BZ) it completely.
²⁸ Therefore the earth will mourn^(CA)
    and the heavens above grow dark,^(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,^(CC)
    I have decided and will not turn back.^(CD)”

²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers^(CE)
    every town takes to flight.^(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(CG)
All the towns are deserted;^(CH)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰ What are you doing,^(CI) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(CJ) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(CK)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(CL) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(CM)

³¹ I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^(CN)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion^(CO) gasping for breath,^(CP)
    stretching out her hands^(CQ) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”^(CR)

³ Lord, do not your eyes^(CZ) look for truth?
    You struck^(DA) them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.^(DB)
They made their faces harder than stone^(DC)
    and refused to repent.^(DD)
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,^(DE)
for they do not know^(DF) the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
⁵ So I will go to the leaders^(DG)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.^(DH)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest^(DI) will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage^(DJ) them,
a leopard^(DK) will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.^(DL)

⁷ “Why should I forgive you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and sworn^(DM) by gods that are not gods.^(DN)
I supplied all their needs,
    yet they committed adultery^(DO)
    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.^(DP)
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for another man’s wife.^(DQ)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”^(DR)
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(DS) myself
    on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
    but do not destroy them completely.^(DT)
Strip off her branches,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
¹¹ The people of Israel and the people of Judah
    have been utterly unfaithful^(DU) to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹² They have lied^(DV) about the Lord;
    they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;^(DW)
    we will never see sword or famine.^(DX)
13 The prophets^(DY) are but wind^(DZ)
    and the word is not in them;
    so let what they say be done to them.”

“Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth^(EA) a fire^(EB)
    and these people the wood it consumes.^(EC)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation^(ED) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language^(EE) you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶ Their quivers^(EF) are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour^(EG) your harvests and food,
    devour^(EH) your sons and daughters;
they will devour^(EI) your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.^(EJ)
With the sword^(EK) they will destroy
    the fortified cities^(EL) in which you trust.^(EM)

²⁰ “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim^(ER) it in Judah:
²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,^(ES)
    who have eyes^(ET) but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:^(EU)
22 Should you not fear^(EV) me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble^(EW) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,^(EX)
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar,^(EY) but they cannot cross it.
²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious^(EZ) hearts;
    they have turned aside^(FA) and gone away.
²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear^(FB) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains^(FC) in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’^(FD)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.^(FE)

²⁶ “Among my people are the wicked^(FF)
    who lie in wait^(FG) like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps^(FH) to catch people.
²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;^(FI)
they have become rich^(FJ) and powerful
²⁸     and have grown fat^(FK) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;^(FL)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.^(FM)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(FN) myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰ “A horrible^(FO) and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy lies,^(FP)
    the priests^(FQ) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?^(FR)

¹⁸ Say to the king^(Y) and to the queen mother,^(Z)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns^(AA)
    will fall from your heads.”
¹⁹ The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah^(AB) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

²⁰ Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.^(AC)
Where is the flock^(AD) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
²¹ What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?^(AE)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?^(AF)
22 And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”^(AG)—
it is because of your many sins^(AH)
    that your skirts have been torn off^(AI)
    and your body mistreated.^(AJ)
23 Can an Ethiopian^[b] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.^(AK)

²⁴ “I will scatter you like chaff^(AL)
    driven by the desert wind.^(AM)
25 This is your lot,
    the portion^(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten^(AO) me
    and trusted in false gods.^(AP)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen^(AQ)—
²⁷ your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!^(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.^(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”^(AT)

“‘Administer justice^(AD) every morning;
    rescue from the hand of the oppressor^(AE)
    the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire^(AF)
    because of the evil^(AG) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench^(AH) it.
¹³ I am against^(AI) you, Jerusalem,
    you who live above this valley^(AJ)
    on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
    Who can enter our refuge?”^(AK)
14 I will punish you as your deeds^(AL) deserve,
    declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire^(AM) in your forests^(AN)
    that will consume everything around you.’”