Then Yahweh put forth his hand, and touched my mouth, - and Yahweh said unto me, Lo! I have put my words in thy mouth.

See! I have set thee in charge this day, over the nations and over the kingdoms, To uproot and to break down, and to destroy and to tear in pieces, - To build and to plant.

Then will I pronounce my judgments against them, concerning all their wickedness, - in that they have forsaken me and have burned incense unto other gods, and have bowed down to the works of their own hands,

I, therefore - lo! I have set thee to-day as a fortified city, and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze, over all the land, - against the kings of Judah, against her princes, against her priests and against the people of the land.

Hath a nation, changed gods, although they were No-gods? Yet my people have changed my glory for that which could not profit!

For two wicked things, have my people committed, - Me, have they forsaken a fountain of living water, To hew out for themselves cisterns broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.

Against him, have been roaring wild lions, They have uttered their voice, - and have made his land a desolation, His cities, have been burned, so as to have no inhabitant.

Even the sons of Noph and Tahpanhes have been crushing the crown of the head.

Let thy wickedness correct thee And thine apostasies, rebuke thee, Know therefore and see That it is a wicked thing and a bitter, that thou shouldest have forsaken Yahweh thy God, And that the dread of me should not have pertained to thee, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

How canst thou say, I have not defiled myself, After the Baalim, have I not gone? See thy way, in the valley, Own what thou hast done, - A nimble young she-camel, crossing her own ways;

Saying, to a tree, My father, art thou! And to a stone, Thou, didst give us birth, For they have turned unto me the back and not the face, - But in the time of their calamity, they will say, Arise, and save us!

Where then are thy gods which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy calamity, - For according to the number of thy cities, have become thy gods O Judah.

Wherefore, should ye plead against me, All of you, have transgressed against me Declareth Yahweh.

In vain, have I smitten your children, Correction, have they not accepted, - Your sword hath devoured your prophets, as a lion that destroyeth.

O generation see, ye, the word of Yahweh, A desert, became I unto Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore, have my people said, We have roved about, We will not come in any more unto thee?

Can, a virgin, forget, her ornaments, - A bride, her girdle? Yet, my people, have forgotten me, days without number.

Although thou saidst, Because I am innocent, surely hath his anger turned back from me, - Behold me! entering into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned!

Therefore have been withholden the showers, And, the latter rain, hath not come, - Yet the forehead of an unchaste woman, hast thou, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.

Only, acknowledge thine iniquity, that against Yahweh thy God, hast thou transgressed, - and hast gone hither and thither unto foreigners under every green tree, and unto my voice, ye have not hearkened Declareth Yahweh.

But indeed as a wife goeth treacherously from her husband, so, have ye acted treacherously with me, O house of Israel, Declareth Yahweh.

A voice on the bare heights, is heard, The weeping of the supplications of the sons of Israel, - Because they have perverted their way, Have forgotten Yahweh their God.

Return ye apostate sons, I will heal your apostasies! Behold us! we have come unto thee, For thou, art Yahweh our God.

We must lie down in our shame And our reproach, be our covering, For, against Yahweh our God, have we sinned, We and our fathers, from our youth even until this day, - Neither have we hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh our God.

There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea, a destroyer of nations - hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place, - To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities, shall fall in ruins, so as to have no inhabitant.

Then said I, - Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, - whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

Put ye in mind the nations Lo! publish ye against Jerusalem, Blockaders! are coming in from a land afar off, - And have uttered against the cities of Judah their voice:

As the keepers of a field, have they come against her round about, - For against me, hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.

Thine own way And thine own doings, Have done these things unto thee, - This thy wickedness, Surely it is bitter, Surely it hath reached unto thy heart.

Surely, perverse, is my people Me, have they not known, Foolish sons, they are, Yea without understanding, they are: Wise, they are to commit wickedness, But how to do well, they know not!

For this cause, shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be overcast: Because I have spoken have purposed, and have not repented nor will I turn back therefrom.

At the noise of horseman and archer, The whole city is in flight, They have entered dark thickets, Yea unto the crags, have they gone up, - Every city, is forsaken, There remaineth not in them a man!

And when, thou, art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes, In vain, shalt thou make thyself fair, - Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life, will they seek!

For a voice as of a woman in pangs, have I heard Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms, - Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.

O Yahweh! thine own eyes, are they not directed to fidelity? Thou hast smitten them Yet have they not grieved, Thou hast consumed them - They have refused to receive correction, - They have made their faces bolder than a cliff, They have refused to return.

I will betake me unto the great men, and will speak, with them! For, they, know the way of Yahweh, the justice of their God! Yea but, they, with one accord have broken the yoke, torn off the bands.

For this cause, hath the lion out of the forest smitten them, The wolf of the waste plains, preyeth upon them, The leopard, is keeping watch over their cities, Every one that goeth out from thence, is torn in pieces, - For they have multiplied their transgressions, Numerous are their apostasies.

How, for this, can I pardon thee? Thine own sons, have forsaken me, And have sworn by No-gods, - When I had fed them to the full, Then committed they adultery, And the house of the unchaste woman, they used to throng:

For very treacherously, have the house of Israel and the house of Judah dealt with me, Declareth Yahweh.

They have acted deceptively against Yahweh, And have said, Not He! Neither shall there come upon us, calamity, Nor sword nor famine, shall we see;

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, God of hosts, Because ye have spoken this word, - Behold me! making my words in thy mouth to be fire, And, this people, - wood, So shall it devour them.

Hear this, I pray you ye people - foolish and without heart, - Eyes, have they, and see not, Ears, have they, and hear not!

Even for me, will ye have no reverence? Enquireth Yahweh, And because of me, will ye not he pained? In that though I placed the sand as a bound to the sea, A decree age-abiding, and it should not pass beyond it, - When they would toss themselves Then should they not prevail, When the waves thereof would roar Then should they not pass beyond it,

Yet, this people hath an obstinate and rebellious heart, - They have turned aside, and gone their way;

Neither have they said in their heart, - Let us we pray you, revere Yahweh our God, Who giveth rain, even the early and the latter, in its season, - The appointed weeks of harvest, he reserveth for us.

Your iniquities, have thrust away these things, Yea, your sins, have withholden that which is good from you.

For there have been found among my people lawless men, - One lieth in wait, as with the stooping of fowlers, They have set a trap, they capture men:

As, a cage, is full of birds, So, are, their houses, full of unrighteous gain, - For this cause, have they become great and waxen rich:

They have waxed fat, they shine Yea they have overpassed the records of wickedness. The right, have they not determined, the right of the fatherless that they might prosper, - Yea justice to the helpless, have they not decreed.

The prophets, have prophesied, falsely, And the priests tread down by their means, And, my people, love it, so, - What then can ye do as to her latter end?

To a comely and delicate woman, have I likened the daughter of Zion:

Against her, shall come shepherds with their flocks; They have pitched against her their tents, round about, They tend their flocks every one near at hand.

And so they have healed the grievous wound of my people, slightly, Saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace,

Hear thou - O earth, Lo! I, am bringing in Calamity against this people the fruit of their own devices, - For unto my words, have they not given heed, And as for my law, they have rejected it.

Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, is he! So they will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses, will they ride, - Arrayed each one, like a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Zion!

We have heard the report thereof, Relaxed are our hands, - Anguish, hath taken hold on us, Pangs, as on her that is giving birth.

An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore, - That thou mayest note and try their way:

Scorched are the bellows, By fire, is lead wont to be, consumed, - In vain, hath he gone on refining, For the wicked, have not been drawn out:

Are ye to steal, commit murder and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, - and walk after other gods whom ye have not known;

And will ye then come in and stand before me in this house whereon my Name hath been called, and say, - We have set ourselves free, - for the purpose of committing all these abominations?

A den of robbers, hath this house on which my Name hath been called become in your own eyes? I, also, - lo! I have seen it Declareth Yahweh.

Now, therefore - Because ye have done all these deeds Declareth Yahweh, - And though I spake unto you betimes speaking, Yet ye hearkened not, And though I cried unto you Yet ye answered not,

And will cast you out from before me, - Just as I have cast out All your brethren, All the seed of Ephraim.

Ever since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt, until this day, Have I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, Daily, betimes, sending them;

For the sons of Judah, have done, that which was wicked in mine eyes, Declareth Yahweh, - They have set their abominations in the house whereon my Name hath been called to defile it;

And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn up their sons and their daughters in the fire, - Which I commanded not, Neither came it up on my heart,

And shall spread them out - To the sun, and To the moon, and To all the host of the heavens, Whom they have loved, And whom they have served, And after whom they have walked, And whom they have sought, And to whom they have bowed themselves down, - They shall not be gathered, Neither shall they be buried, As heaps of dung on the face of the ground, shall they be.

Then shall, death, be chosen rather than life, by all the remnant of them that remain, of this wicked family, - in all the places, whither I have driven them, Declareth Yahweh of hosts.

I hearkened and heard - Not aright, did they speak, - Not a man, repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done! They have every one, turned to their course again, Like a horse sweeping on through the battle.

Ashamed are the wise, dismayed and captured! Lo! the word of Yahweh, have they rejected, And, what wisdom, have, they?

And so they have healed the grievous wound of the daughter of my people, slightly, - Saying, Peace! peace! when there was no peace!

I will, surely remove, them, declareth Yahweh: There shall be no grapes on the vine Nor figs on the fig-tree, Even the leaf, hath faded, Though I have given them these things, they shall pass away from them.

Why are, well sitting still? Gather yourselves together and let us enter the defenced cities And let us be silent there, - For, Yahweh our God, hath put us to silence And made us drink poisoned water, Because we have sinned against Yahweh.

When I would have cheered myself against sorrow, Against me, mine own heart sickened: -

Lo! the voice of the cry for help of the daughter of my people from a land far away, Is, Yahweh, not in Zion? Is, her King, not within her? Why, have they provoked me with their carved images, with their foreign vanities?

Who have prepared e their tongue as their bow of falsehood, And, not by faithfulness, have they become mighty in the land, - For from wickedness unto wickedness, have they gone forth, But me, have they not known, Declareth Yahweh.

Yea, every one, of his neighbour, maketh a dupe, And, truth, they do not speak, - They have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, In acting perversely, they have wearied themselves.

Thy dwelling, is in the midst of deceit, - Through deceit, have they rejected the knowledge of, me, Declareth Yahweh.

Over the mountains, will I take up a weeping and wailing, And over the oases of the desert, a dirge, For they have been burned, so that no man passeth through, Neither have men heard the lowing of cattle, - Both the bird of the heavens and the beast have fled, have gone their way:

Then said Yahweh, - Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, - And have not hearkened to hay voice neither walked therein;

But have gone their way, After the stubbornness of their own heart, - And after the Baals which their fathers taught them,

And will scatter them among the nations, which neither they nor their fathers, have known, - And will send after them the sword, until I have consumed them.

Yea, a voice of wailing, hath been heard out of Zion How are we ruined! We have turned very pale For we have left the land, For they have cast down our habitations.

For the shepherds, have become brutish, And Yahweh, have they not sought, - For this cause, have they not prospered, And, all their flock, is scattered.

Pour out thy wrath - Upon the nations that know thee not, and Upon the families that, upon thy Name, have not called, - For they have devoured Jacob Yea they have devoured him and consumed him, And, his habitation, have they made desolate.

They have turned back unto the iniquities of their first fathers who refused to hear my words, yea, they themselves, have walked after other gods to serve them, - the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I solemnised with their fathers.

Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, go and make outcry unto the gods to whom they have been burning incense, - but they will not at all, save, them in the time of their calamity;

for according to the number of thy cities, have become thy gods O Judah, - and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have ye set up album to the Shameful thing, altars for burning incense to Baal.

But, Yahweh of hosts, who planted thee hath pronounced against thee calamity, - on account of the wickedness of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah which they have wrought for themselves, provoking me to anger by burning incense to Baal.

But, O Yahweh of hosts Who judgest righteously, Who triest affections and intellect, - Let me see thine avenging upon them, For unto thee, have revealed my cause.

And remnant, shall they have none, - For I will bring calamity against the men of Anathoth, in the year of their visitation.

Righteous, art thou O Yahweh, when I present my pleading unto thee, - Yet, concerning the things that are right, let me speak with thee, - Wherefore hath, the way of the lawless, prospered? Wherefore have all, utter traitors, been at ease?

Thou didst plant them, yea they took root, They have gone on yea they have borne fruit, - Near, art thou, in their mouth, But far off from their affections,

How long, shall the land mourn, And, the herbage of the whole field, wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, beast and bird, have perished, For say they, He will not see our latter end!

If, with the footmen, thou hast run and they have wearied thee, How then wilt thou hotly contend with horses? Though in a safe land thou art confident, Yet how wilt thou deal with the proud banks of the Jordan?

For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even they! have betrayed thee, Even they, have cried after thee with full voice, - Do not trust in them, though they speak unto thee fair words.

I have forsaken mine own house, I have given up mine inheritance, - I have delivered the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies:

Mine inheritance, hath become to me as a lion in a jungle, - She hath given forth against me her voice, For this cause, have I hated her.

Many shepherds, have laid waste my vineyard, They have trampled down my portion, - They have turned my coveted portion into a desert of desolation:

On all the bare heights in the wilderness, have come despoilers, For the sword of Yahweh hath devoured from one end of the land unto the other, - There is peace for no flesh!

They sowed, wheat, but thorns, have they reaped, They have put themselves to pain they shall not be profited, - Yea turn ye pale at your produce, Because if the glow of the anger of Yahweh.