O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him.

Your country has become waste; your towns are burned with fire; as for your land, it is overturned before your eyes, made waste and overcome by men from strange lands.

Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.

Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them.

For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me;

For you will be put to shame because of the trees of your desire, and because of the gardens of your pleasure.

For you will be like a tree whose leaves have become dry, and like a garden without water.

And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.

And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever.

For you, O Lord, have given up your people, the family of Jacob, because they are full of the evil ways of the east, and make use of secret arts like the Philistines, and are friends with the children of strange countries.

And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face: for this cause there will be no forgiveness for their sin.

Go into a hole in the rock, covering yourselves with dust, in fear of the Lord, before the glory of his power.

For the day of the Lord of armies is coming on all the pride of men, and on all who are high and lifted up;

And on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all the fair boats.

And men will go into cracks of the rocks, and into holes of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength.

In that day men will put their images of silver and of gold, which they made for worship, in the keeping of the beasts of the dark places;

To take cover in the cracks of the rocks, and in the holes of the hills, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength.

Have no more to do with man, whose life is only a breath, for he is of no value.

For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water;

When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition:

Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people.

For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath.

Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full.

Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways.

Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.

As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way.

The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils.

And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free.

And in that day seven women will put their hands on one man, saying, There will be no need for you to give us food or clothing, only let us go under your name, so that our shame may be taken away.

And it will come about that the rest of the living in Zion, and of those who have been kept from destruction in Jerusalem, will be named holy, even everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem:

And over every living-place on Mount Zion, all over all her meetings, the Lord will make a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all, the glory of the Lord will be a cover and a tent;

Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill:

And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.

Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?

For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.

Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land!

The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them.

For ten fields of vines will only give one measure of wine, and a great amount of seed will only give a small measure of grain.

Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!

For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water.

For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it.

Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!

Who for a reward give support to the cause of the sinner, and who take away the righteousness of the upright from him.

For this cause, as the waste of the grain is burned up by tongues of fire, and as the dry grass goes down before the flame, so their root will be like the dry stems of grain, and their flower will go up in dust: because they have gone against the law of the Lord of armies, and have given no honour to the word of the Holy One of Israel.

For this reason the wrath of the Lord has been burning against his people, and his hand has been stretched out against them in punishment, and the hills were shaking, and their dead bodies were like waste in the open places of the town.

And he will let a flag be lifted up as a sign to a far-off nation, whistling to them from the ends of the earth: and they will come quickly and suddenly.

Over him were the winged ones: every one had six wings; two for covering his face, two for covering his feed, and two for flight.

Then I said, The curse is on me, and my fate is destruction; for I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.

Then a winged one came to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from off the altar with the fire-spoon.

And the voice of the Lord came to my ears, saying, Whom am I to send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me.

Make the hearts of this people fat, and let their ears be stopped, and their eyes shut; for fear that they may see with their eyes, and be hearing with their ears, and their heart may become wise, and they may be turned to me and made well.

And the Lord has taken men far away, and there are wide waste places in the land.

And say to him, Take care and be quiet; have no fear, and do not let your heart be feeble, because of these two ends of smoking fire-wood, because of the bitter wrath of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.

For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be broken, and will no longer be a people):

Make a request to the Lord your God for a sign, a sign in the deep places of the underworld, or in the high heavens.

For this cause the Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman is now with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name Immanuel.

For before the child is old enough to make a decision between evil and good, the land whose two kings you are now fearing will have become waste.

And it will be in that day that the Lord will make a piping sound for the fly which is in the end of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria.

In that day will the Lord take away the hair of the head and of the feet, as well as the hair of the face, with a blade got for a price from the other side of the River; even with the king of Assyria.

And they will give so much milk that he will be able to have butter for his food: for butter and honey will be the food of all who are still living in the land.

And they will send out the oxen and the sheep on all the hills which before were worked with the spade, ... fear of blackberries and thorns.

For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;

For this cause the Lord is sending on them the waters of the River, deep and strong, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it will come up through all its streams, overflowing all its edges:

And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; *** and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.

Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:

Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.

For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,

Do not say, It is holy, about everything of which this people says, It is holy; and do not be in fear of what they go in fear of.

But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.

And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken.

And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.

See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.

And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?

Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...

The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining.

For by your hand the yoke on his neck and the rod on his back, even the rod of his cruel master, have been broken, as in the day of Midian.

For every boot of the man of war with his sounding step, and the clothing rolled in blood, will be for burning, food for the fire.

For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.

For this cause the Lord has made strong the haters of Israel, driving them on to make war against him;

Aram on the east, and the Philistines on the west, who have come against Israel with open mouths. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

For this cause the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, high and low, in one day.

For the guides of this people are the cause of their wandering from the right way, and those who are guided by them come to destruction.

For this cause the Lord will have no pleasure in their young men, and no pity on their widows and the children without fathers: for they are all haters of God and evil-doers, and foolish words come from every mouth. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

For evil was burning like a fire; the blackberries and thorns were burned up; the thick woods took fire, rolling up in dark clouds of smoke.

The land was dark with the wrath of the Lord of armies: the people were like those who take men's flesh for food.

Manasseh was making a meal of Ephraim, and Ephraim of Manasseh; and together they were attacking Judah. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

And what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the destruction which is coming from far? to whom will you go for help, and what will become of your glory?

... For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

For he says, Are not all my captains kings?

For this cause it will be that, when the purpose of the Lord against Mount Zion and Jerusalem is complete, I will send punishment on the pride of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of his uplifted eyes.

For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my knowledge, for I am wise: and I have taken away the limits of the peoples' lands, and the stores of their wealth have become mine; and I have made towns low in the dust, sending destruction on those living in them;

And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound.

For this cause the Lord, the Lord of armies, will make his fat become wasted; and in his inner parts a fire will be lighted like a burning flame.

And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: wasting and burning up his thorns in one day.

And it will be in that day that the rest of Israel, and those of Jacob who have come safely through these troubles, will no longer go for help to him whose rod was on their back, but their faith will be in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

For though your people, O Israel, are as the sand of the sea, only a small number will come back: for the destruction is fixed, overflowing in righteousness.

For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to make destruction complete in all the land.