Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen, it is not God; therefore Samaria's calf will be broken in pieces.

They offer me meat from the sacrifices of my offerings, and they eat from it, but the LORD does not accept them. He will now remember their transgression and pay them back for their sins; to Egypt they will return.

They will not live in the LORD's land Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.

The glory of Ephraim will fly away like a bird no birth, no pregnancy, not even a conception.

"All of their wickedness started in Gilgal, because I began to hate them there. Because of the wickedness of their behavior, I will drive them from my Temple. I will not love them anymore; all their leaders are rebels.

"My God will reject them, because they did not obey him, and they will become wanderers among the nations."

From now on they will say, "We have no king, because we did not fear the LORD and what would a king do for us?'

"From the time of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel; There they took their stand; the battle at Gibeah could not subdue the lawless.

"They will not return to the land of Egypt; instead, the Assyrian will be their king, because they kept refusing to repent.

"How can I give up on you, Ephraim? I will deliver you, will I not, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? I can't make you like Zeboim, can I? My heart stirs within me; my compassion also fans into flame!

I will not act in my anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, For I am God, and not a human the Holy One among you so I will not enter the city in anger.

"Put on your mourning clothes, you priests; and cry aloud, you ministering servants at the altar! Come! Stay the night in mourner's clothes, you ministers of my God, because the grain offering and the wine offering is held back from the Temple of your God.

Neither does a man crowd his fellow soldier; each one marches in his own path. When they fall by the sword they are not injured.

Tear your hearts, not your garments; and turn back to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to become angry, overflowing in gracious love, and grieves about this evil.

Who knows? He will turn back and relent, will he not, leaving behind a blessing, even a grain offering and drink offering for the LORD your God?"

As they serve between the porch and the altar, let the priests and ministers of the LORD weep and pray: "Spare your people, LORD, and do not make your heritage a disgrace so that nations ridicule them. Why should they say among the people, "Where is their God?"'"

I will acquit their bloodguilt that has not yet been acquitted. For the LORD lives in Zion!"

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Damascus and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they have trampled down Gilead with ironclad threshing sleds.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Gaza and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they exiled the entire population, delivering them to Edom.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Tyre and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they delivered the entire population to Edom, and did not remember their covenant with their relatives.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Edom and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because he pursued his brother with a sword, refusing to be compassionate. His anger was raging continuously; he kept up his unending wrath.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their national borders.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Judah and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they rejected the Law of the LORD and did not keep his statutes. Their own lies made them wander off, following along the same path their ancestors walked.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Israel and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they sold the righteous for money, and the poor for sandals,

I also raised up your sons to be prophets, and from your young men I raised up Nazirites. Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD.

"But you forced the Nazirites to drink wine, and commanded the prophets, "You are not to prophesy!'

So the swift runner will not escape, the valiant will not fortify his strength, and the mighty warrior will not save his life.

The skilled archer will not be able to stand, the swift runner will not survive, and the mounted rider will not preserve his own life.

And when an alarm sounds in the city, the people will tremble, won't they? If there is trouble in a city, the LORD has brought it about, has he not?"

A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who will not prophesy?

Because they do not know how to act right," declares the LORD, "they are filling their strongholds with treasures that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels."

"I therefore have withheld the rain from you three months before the harvest, causing rain to come upon one city, but not upon another, and upon one field but not upon another, so that it would wither.

So the people of two or three cities staggered away to another city in order to obtain drinking water, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

"I afflicted you with blight and fungus; and the locust swarm devoured the harvest of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

"I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt. I killed your choicest young men with the sword. I took your horses away from you. I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

"I overthrew your cities, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You've become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

Seek the one who fashions the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the deep darkness into morning, who darkens day into night, who calls out to the waters of the sea, pouring them out onto the surface of the earth the LORD is his name.

"Pursue good and not evil, so that you may live, and this is what will happen: The LORD God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you, as you have been claiming.

"Woe to those who are craving the Day of the LORD! How is it to your benefit, this Day of the LORD? It's a day of darkness to you, and not light.

Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness, and not light pitch black at that, without a ray of sunshine?"

And if you send up burnt offerings to me as well as your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle.

Spare me your noisy singing I will not listen to your musical instruments.

drinking wine from bowls, anointing themselves with the choicest of oils, but not grieving on the occasion of Joseph's ruin

One's relative will pick up the corpse to carry them from the house for burning, saying to whomever remains inside the house, "Is there anyone still with you?' And he will say, "No.' He will respond, "Be quiet, because we do not mention the name "LORD".'

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen," said the LORD.

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen, either," said the Lord GOD.

"Look! The days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine throughout the land not a famine of food or a thirst for water but rather a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying, "Strike the doorposts so that the thresholds tremble, bringing them down on the heads of all of them. Those who survive I will kill with the sword. Those who flee will not escape. There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.

Even if they go into exile among their enemies, from there I will order the sword to kill them. I will fix my gaze on them to inflict disaster, and not to do good.

"Aren't you people of Israel like the people of Cush to me?" declares the LORD. "I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, did I not, as well as the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

Look! The eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth; but I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.

"Look! I'm giving the order: I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!

All sinners among my people will die by the sword, especially all who are saying, "Disaster will not come upon or conquer us!'"

"If thieves came against you, if marauding gangs by night Oh, how you will be destroyed! Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave some grapes to be gleaned?

"In that day," declares the Lord, "will I not destroy the wise from Edom, and those with understanding from Esau's Mountain?

"You should not have gloated over your brother, on the day of his calamity. You should not have rejoiced when the descendants of Judah were perishing. You should not have boasted when they were in distress.

"You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. Also, you should not have gloated over Judah's misfortune on the day of his disaster, nor should you have plundered his wealth on the day of his disaster.

And you should not have taken your stand at the crossroads to cut down his fleeing refugees, nor should you have handed over his survivors on the day of his distress."

At last they cried out to the LORD, "Please, LORD, do not let us perish because of this man's life, and do not hold us responsible for innocent blood, because you, LORD, have done what pleased you."

Who knows but that God may relent, have compassion, and turn from his fierce anger, so that we are not exterminated?"

God took note of what they did that they turned from their evil ways. Because God relented concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.

So why shouldn't I be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 human beings who do not know their right hand from their left, as well as a lot of livestock?

"Woe to those who are crafting iniquity, planning evil well into the night! When morning's light comes, they carry out their plans because they have the power to do so.

"This is why there will not be left even a single person to settle boundary disputes in the LORD's community.

"It is said, house of Jacob, "The Spirit of the LORD is limited, if he acts this way, is he not?' "But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?

"He will say, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel! You should know justice, should you not?

"Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not listen to them. In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they were so wicked in what they were doing."

Her leaders judge for the money, her priests teach only when they're paid, and her prophets prophesy for cash. Even so, don't they all rely on the LORD as they ask, "The LORD is among us, is he not? Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!'

I will execute vengeance, anger, and fury on the nations who do not obey."

The faithful have died off, and there is not one upright human being in the land. They all stalk one another with lethal intent, a man will even hunt his own brother with a net.

Is there any God like you, forgiving iniquity, passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage? He is not angry forever, because he delights in gracious love.

What are you scheming against the LORD? He will bring about utter desolation adversity will not strike twice!

Nineveh is a reservoir whose water is draining away. "Wait! Wait!" they cry, yet not even one person looks back.

Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own.

Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures.

The adversary captures them with a hook, gathering them up in a fishing net. He collects them with a dragnet, rejoicing and gloating over his catch.

Therefore he sacrifices to his fishing net, and burns incense in the presence of his dragnet, because by them his assets increase and he gets plenty of food.

Is he to continue to empty his fishing net? Will he ever stop killing entire nations without mercy?"

For the revelation pertains to an appointed time it speaks truthfully about the end. Though it delays, wait for it, because it will surely come about it will not be late!

"Will not all of these ridicule him with mocking scorn? They will say, "Woe to the one who hordes for himself what isn't his. How long will you enrich yourself by extortion?'

Is it not because of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies that people grow tired putting out fires, and nations weary themselves over nothing?

Even though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no grapes on the vines; even if the olive harvest fails, and the fields produce nothing edible; even if the flock is snatched from the sheepfold, and there is no herd in the stalls

It won't obey anyone. It won't accept discipline. It does not trust in the LORD. It does not approach God.

Its national officials are roaring lions; its judges are like wolves of the night that don't leave the bones for the morning.

"I have destroyed nations their fortifications are deserted. I have turned their main thoroughfares into wastelands where no one will travel. Their cities are desolate; as a result, not one man remains no, not even a single resident.

I have said, "If only you would fear me, if only you would take my instructions to heart.' Then their houses would not have been torn down. I have chastened them, but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing."

When this happens, you will not be ashamed of your actions by which you sinned against me, because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride. Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.

The survivors of Israel will not practice lawlessness nor tell lies, nor will a deceitful message be found in their mouths, because they will eat and rest, with no one to cause fear."

The LORD has acquitted you; turning back your adversaries. Israel's king, the LORD, is among you; you will not fear disaster anymore.

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "These people keep saying, "No, the right time for rebuilding the LORD's Temple has not yet come."'"

I punished you and everything that you undertook with scorching wind, with mildew, and with hail, and you still did not return to me,' declares the LORD.

But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: "The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.'"

"I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown, and white horses."

"Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Take note! I am coming to live in your midst," declares the LORD.

The LORD told Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan in fact, may the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! This man is a burning brand plucked from the fire, is he not?"

Then he replied to me, "This is this message from the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by valor nor by strength, but only by my Spirit,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

You are not to wrong the widow, orphans, the foreigner, or the poor, and you are not to plan evil against each other.

Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

"I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.'" Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.

""But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.