Therefore, I will make Samaria
a heap of ruins in the countryside,
a planting area for a vineyard.
I will roll her stones into the valley
and expose her foundations.

Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib are a deception
to the kings of Israel.

Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.

Therefore, the Lord says:

I am now planning a disaster
against this nation;
you cannot free your necks from it.
Then you will not walk so proudly
because it will be an evil time.

In that day one will take up a taunt against you,
and lament mournfully, saying,
“We are totally ruined!
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How He removes it from me!
He allots our fields to traitors.”

“Quit your preaching,” they preach.
“They should not preach these things;
shame will not overtake us.”

House of Jacob, should it be asked,
“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?
Are these the things He does?”
Don’t My words bring good
to the one who walks uprightly?

But recently My people have risen up
like an enemy:
You strip off the splendid robe
from those who are passing through confidently,
like those returning from war.

Get up and leave,
for this is not your place of rest,
because defilement brings destruction—
a grievous destruction!

This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who proclaim peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.

He will settle disputes among many peoples
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows,
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.

Though all the peoples each walk
in the name of their gods,
we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.

Now, why are you shouting loudly?
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?

Writhe and cry out, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;
there the Lord will redeem you
from the power of your enemies!

Many nations have now assembled against you;
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”

But they do not know the Lord’s intentions
or understand His plan,
that He has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.

Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze,
so you can crush many peoples.
Then you will set apart their plunder
to the Lord for destruction,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.

Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
One will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for Me.
His origin is from antiquity,
from eternity.

He will be their peace.
When Assyria invades our land,
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.

They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade.
So He will rescue us from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.

Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.

Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,
and all your enemies will be destroyed.

In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will remove your horses from you
and wreck your chariots.

I will remove the cities of your land
and tear down all your fortresses.

I will remove sorceries from your hands,
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.

I will remove your carved images
and sacred pillars from you
so that you will not bow down again
to the work of your hands.

I will pull up the Asherah poles from among you
and demolish your cities.

Now listen to what the Lord is saying:

Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.

My people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you?
Testify against Me!

What should I bring before the Lord
when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?

Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams
or with ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the child of my body for my own sin?

Mankind, He has told you what is good
and what it is the Lord requires of you:
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

The voice of Yahweh calls out to the city
(and it is wise to fear Your name):
“Pay attention to the rod
and the One who ordained it.

Are there still the treasures of wickedness
and the accursed short measure
in the house of the wicked?

Can I excuse wicked scales
or bags of deceptive weights?

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence,
and its residents speak lies;
the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.

“As a result, I have begun to strike you severely,
bringing desolation because of your sins.

Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.

The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;
at this time their panic is here.

Do not rely on a friend;
don’t trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.

Surely a son considers his father a fool,
a daughter opposes her mother,
and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.

A day will come for rebuilding your walls;
on that day your boundary will be extended.

Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
the flock that is Your possession.
They live alone in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in ancient times.

I will perform miracles for them
as in the days of your exodus
from the land of Egypt.

They will lick the dust like a snake;
they will come trembling out of their hiding places
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;
they will stand in awe of You.

He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.

You will show loyalty to Jacob
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers
from days long ago.