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 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 Moab because they cremated the bones of the king of Edom, burning them to lime.

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,

They lay down beside every altar, on garments pledged as collateral, drinking wine paid for through fines imposed by the temple of their gods.

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?"

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."

The Lord GOD has taken a sacred oath: "The day is coming when they will take you away on fishhooks, every last one of you on fishhooks.

They have hated those who are presenting their cases in court, detesting the one who speaks truthfully.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, the Lord, says: "There will be dirges in all of the streets; and in all of the highways they will cry out in anguish. They will call the farmer to mourning and those who lament to grieve.

chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David, composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians,

"And if there are ten men remaining in one house, they will die.

"Horses don't run over bare rock, do they? One doesn't plow rock with oxen, does he? But you have turned justice to gall, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

"So look, house of Israel! I will raise up a nation against you," declares the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, "and they will harass you from the entrance of Hamath to the wadi of the wilderness."

"The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget anything they have done.

Surely the land will tremble because of this, won't it? And all who live in it will mourn, won't they? The entire land will swell up like a flooded river. It will be stirred up and then will sink like the river of Egypt.

People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the LORD, but they won't find it.

"Even if they burrow into Sheol, from there my hand will find them. Even if they ascend to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.

Even if they hide at the top of Mount Carmel, from there I will search and seize them. Even if they hide from my sight in the depths of the sea, from there I will order the serpent to strike them.

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.

I will surely restore my people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them. They will plant gardens and eat the fruit from them.