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For this I will lament and wail;
    I will go stripped and naked;
    I will howl like the jackals,
    and moan like the daughters of owls.
For her wounds are incurable;
    for it has come even to Judah.
It reaches to the gate of my people,
    even to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath.
    Don’t weep at all.
    At Beth Ophrah[a] I have rolled myself in the dust.
11 Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame.
    The inhabitant of Zaanan won’t come out.
    The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection.
12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good,
    because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish.
    She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion;
    For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath.
    The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
15 I will yet bring to you, inhabitant of Mareshah, him who will possess you.
    He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
16 Shave your heads,
    and cut off your hair for the children of your delight.
Enlarge your baldness like the vulture;
    for they have gone into captivity from you!

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Footnotes

  1. 1:10 Beth Ophrah means literally “House of Dust.”

Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
    I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For my people’s wound
    is too deep to heal.
It has reached into Judah,
    even to the gates of Jerusalem.

10 Don’t tell our enemies in Gath[a];
    don’t weep at all.
You people in Beth-leaphrah,[b]
    roll in the dust to show your despair.
11 You people in Shaphir,[c]
    go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed.
The people of Zaanan[d]
    dare not come outside their walls.
The people of Beth-ezel[e] mourn,
    for their house has no support.
12 The people of Maroth[f] anxiously wait for relief,
    but only bitterness awaits them
as the Lord’s judgment reaches
    even to the gates of Jerusalem.

13 Harness your chariot horses and flee,
    you people of Lachish.[g]
You were the first city in Judah
    to follow Israel in her rebellion,
    and you led Jerusalem[h] into sin.
14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath[i];
    there is no hope of saving it.
The town of Aczib[j]
    has deceived the kings of Israel.
15 O people of Mareshah,[k]
    I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
And the leaders[l] of Israel
    will go to Adullam.

16 Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow,
    for the children you love will be snatched away.
Make yourselves as bald as a vulture,
    for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:10a Gath sounds like the Hebrew term for “tell.”
  2. 1:10b Beth-leaphrah means “house of dust.”
  3. 1:11a Shaphir means “pleasant.”
  4. 1:11b Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew term for “come out.”
  5. 1:11c Beth-ezel means “adjoining house.”
  6. 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew term for “bitter.”
  7. 1:13a Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for “team of horses.”
  8. 1:13b Hebrew the daughter of Zion.
  9. 1:14a Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew term for “gift” or “dowry.”
  10. 1:14b Aczib means “deception.”
  11. 1:15a Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew term for “conqueror.”
  12. 1:15b Hebrew the glory.