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Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four,
    I will not turn away its punishment;
    because they have rejected Yahweh’s law,
    and have not kept his statutes,
    and their lies have led them astray,
    after which their fathers walked;
but I will send a fire on Judah,
    and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four,
    I will not turn away its punishment;
    because they have sold the righteous for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals;
    They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor,
    and deny justice to the oppressed;
    and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;
    and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge;
    and in the house of their God[a] they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
    whose height was like the height of the cedars,
    and he was strong as the oaks;
    yet I destroyed his fruit from above,
    and his roots from beneath.
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,
    and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Isn’t this true,
    you children of Israel?” says Yahweh.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
    and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
13 Behold,[b] I will crush you in your place,
    as a cart crushes that is full of grain.
14 Flight will perish from the swift;
    and the strong won’t strengthen his force;
    neither shall the mighty deliver himself;
15     neither shall he stand who handles the bow;
    and he who is swift of foot won’t escape;
    neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;
16 and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,”

says Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:8 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
  2. 2:13 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

Judgment on Judah

The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Judah(A)
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord(B)
and have not kept his statutes.(C)
The lies(D) that their ancestors followed(E)
have led them astray.
Therefore, I will send fire(F) against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

Judgment on Israel

The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Israel(G)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.(H)
They trample the heads of the poor(I)
on the dust of the ground
and obstruct the path of the needy.(J)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,(K)
profaning my holy name.(L)
They stretch out beside every altar(M)
on garments taken as collateral,(N)
and in the house of their God
they drink wine obtained through fines.(O)

Yet I destroyed the Amorite(P) as Israel advanced;
his height(Q) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit(R) above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt(S)
and led you forty years in the wilderness(T)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.(U)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets(V)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.(W)
Is this not the case, Israelites?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”(X)
13 Look, I am about to crush[a] you in your place(Y)
as a wagon crushes when full of grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift,(Z)
the strong one will not maintain his strength,(AA)
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,(AB)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.(AC)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day(AD)

this is the Lord’s declaration.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:13 Or hinder; Hb obscure