And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

All her idols shall be broken in pieces,
All her earnings [from her idolatry] shall be burned with fire,
And all her images I shall make desolate;
For from the earnings of a prostitute she collected them,
And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.

Thou that dwellest at Shaphir, get thee hence with shame. The proud shall boost no more for very sorrow. And why? Her neighbour shall take from her what she hath.

The rebellious city hopeth that it shall not be so evil: but for all that, the plague shall come from the LORD, even in to the port of Jerusalem.

The great noise of the chariots shall fear them that dwell at Lachish, which is an occasion of the sin of the daughter of Zion, for in thee came up the wickedness of Israel.

Therefore give your gifts to Moresheth-gath; that is, the houses of Achzib as a deceitful symbol to the kings of Israel.

And as for thee, O thou that dwellest at Mareshah, I shall bring a possession upon thee, and the plague of Israel shall reach unto Adullam.

Woe unto them that imagine to do harm, and devise ungraciousness upon their beds, to perform it in the clear day: for their power is against God.

In that day doth one take up for you a simile, And he hath wailed a wailing of woe, He hath said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He doth change, How doth He move toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportioneth.

Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.

Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

Doth the house of Jacob say, 'Hath the Spirit of Jehovah been shortened? Are these His doings?' Do not My words benefit the people that is walking uprightly?

Even of late my people hath risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse to war.

Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your resting-place, because of uncleanness that destroys, even with a grievous destruction.

If I were a fleshly fellow, and a preacher of lies, and told them that they might sit bibbing and bolling, and be drunken: O that were a Prophet for this people!

But I will gather thee indeed, O Jacob, and drive the remnant of Israel all together. I shall carry them one with another, as a flock in the fold, and as the cattle in their stalls, that they may be disquieted of other men.

One that breaketh through is gone up before them: they have broken forth, and have passed on to the gate, and are gone out by it; and their king passeth on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them.

who also eat the flesh of My people, and strip their skin off them. And they break their bones and chop them in pieces, like that in the pot, like those in the middle of the kettle.

Then do they cry unto Jehovah, And He doth not answer them, And hideth His face from them at that time, As they have made evil their doings.

And as concerning the prophets that deceive my people, thus the LORD sayeth against them: When they have any thing to bite upon, then they preach that all shall be well. But if a man put not some thing in to their mouths, they preach of war against him.

Therefore it shall be night to you, that ye shall have no vision. And it shall be dark to you, that ye shall not divine. And the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.

But I am full of the courage that the Lord's Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin.

O hear this, ye rulers of the house of Jacob, and ye judges of the house of Israel: ye that abhor the thing that is lawful, and wrest aside the thing that is straight;

Ye that build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with doing wrong.

O ye judges, ye give sentence for gifts; O ye priests, ye teach for lucre; O ye prophets, ye prophesy for money. Yet will they be taken as those that hold upon God, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? Tush, there can no misfortune happen us."

But in the latter days it will come to pass, that the hill of the LORD's house shall be set up higher than any mountains or hills: Yea, the people shall flow unto it,

and the multitude of the Gentiles shall haste them thither, saying, "Come, let us go up to the hill of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may teach us his way, and that we may walk in his paths." For the law shall come out of Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem;

And shall give sentence among the multitude of the Heathen and reform the people of far countries: so that of their swords they shall make plowshares, and scythes of their spears. One people shall not lift up a sword against another, yea they shall no more learn to fight.

In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I do gather the halting one, And the driven away one I bring together, And she whom I have afflicted.

And I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation. And LORD will reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth even forever.

As for you, watchtower for the flock, fortress of Daughter Zion -- your former dominion will be restored, the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.

Now, why dost thou shout aloud? A king -- is there none in thee? Hath thy counsellor perished, That taken hold of thee hath pain as a travailing woman?

Now also are there many people gathered together against thee, saying that Zion is cursed: "We shall see our lust upon her."

But they know not the thoughts of the LORD; they understand not his counsel, that shall gather them together as the sheaves in the barn.

Therefore get thee up, O thou daughter Zion, and thresh out the corn. For I will make thy horn iron. and thy claws brass, that thou mayest grind many people: their goods shalt thou appropriate unto the LORD, and their substance unto the ruler of the whole world.

After that shalt thou be robbed thyself, O thou robber's daughter: they shall lay siege against us, and smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou art little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

In the meanwhile he plagueth them for a season, until the time that she which shall bear have born: then shall the remnant of his brethren be converted unto the children of Israel.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.

Then shall there be peace, so that the Assyrian may come into our land, and tread in our houses. We shall bring up seven shepherds and eight princes upon them:

And the remnant of Jacob hath been in the midst of many peoples, As dew from Jehovah -- as showers on the herb, That waiteth not for man, nor stayeth for the sons of men.

Yea, the residue of Jacob shall be among the gentiles and the multitude of people, as the lion among the beasts of the wood, and as the Lion's whelps among a flock of sheep: which, when he goeth through, treadeth down, teareth in pieces, and there is no man that can help.

And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, I have cut off thy horses from thy midst, And I have destroyed thy chariots,

I will remove the sorcery that you practice, and you will no longer have omen readers living among you.

Thine Idols and thine Images will I destroy out of thee so that thou shalt no more bow thyself unto the works of thine own hands.

Thus will I be avenged also, upon all the Heathen that will not hear.

Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: 'Rise -- strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.'

Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from that place of slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of you.

Remember, O my people, what Balak the king of Moab had imagined against thee, and what answer that Balaam the son of Beor gave him, from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the loving-kindness of the LORD.

The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man that shall be saved considereth thy name, O LORD. Hear and that thy name may be righteousness. Hear, O ye tribes: who would else give you such warning?

Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure that is abominable?

among those that be full of riches unrighteously gotten: where the citizens deal with falsity, speak lies, and have deceitful tongues in their mouths?

Thou salt eat, and not have enough: yea, thou shalt bring thyself down. Thou shalt flee, but not escape: and those that thou wouldest save, will I deliver to the sword.

For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels, that I may make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing. And ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Woe is me! I am become as one that goeth a gleaning in the harvest. There are no more grapes to eat, yet would I fain, with all my heart, have of the best fruit.

yet they say they do well when they do evil. As the prince will, so sayeth the judge: that he may do him a pleasure again. The great man speaketh what his heart desireth; and the hearers allow him.

The best of them is but as a thistle, and the most righteous of them is but as a brier in the hedge. But when the day of thy preachers cometh, that thou shalt be visited: then shall they be wasted away.

Let no man believe his friend, nor put his confidence in a prince. Keep the door of thy mouth, from her that lieth in thy bosom:

I will bear the punishment of the LORD - For why? I have offended him - till he sit in judgment upon my cause, and see that I have right. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall see his righteousness.

She that is mine enemy shall look upon it, and be confounded, which now sayeth, "Where is thy LORD God?" Mine eyes shall behold her, when she shall be trodden down, as the clay in the streets.

The time will come, that thy gaps shall be made up, and the law shall go abroad:

and at that time shall they come unto thee, from Assyria unto the strong cities, and from the strong cities unto the river: from the one sea to the other, from the one mountain to the other.

Notwithstanding, the land must be wasted, because of them that dwell therein, and for the fruits of their own Imaginations.

Therefore feed thy people with thy rod; the flock of thine heritage which dwell desolate in the wood: that they may be fed upon the mount of Carmel, Bashan and Gilead as afore time.

This shall the Heathen see, and be ashamed for all their power: so that they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, and stop their ears.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent, as the worms of the earth, that tremble in their holes. They shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and they shall fear thee.

Where is there such a God as thou? That pardonest wickedness, and forgivest the offenses of the remnant of thine heritage? He keepeth not his wrath for ever. And why? His delight is to have compassion.

Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!

The LORD suffereth long, he is of great power, and so innocent that he leaveth no man faultless before him. The LORD goeth forth in tempest and stormy weather; the clouds are the dust of his feet.

He rebukes the sea so that it dries up,
and He makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
even the flower of Lebanon withers.

The mountains tremble for him, the hills consume. At the sight of him the earth quaketh: yea, the whole world, and all that dwell therein.

Full gracious is the LORD, and a stronghold in time of trouble. He knoweth them that put their trust in him:

For like as the thorns that stick together, and as the dry straw, so shall the drunkards be consumed together, even when they be full.

There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.

And now, I will break Assyria's yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you."

But the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that there shall come no more seed of thy name. The carved and casten Images will I root out of the house of thy God. Thy grave shall I prepare for thee, and thou shalt be confounded.

Behold, upon the mountains come the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and preacheth peace. O Judah, keep thy holidays, perform thy promises: for Belial shall come no more in thee, he is utterly rooted out.

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

Thus must she be spoiled, emptied and clean stripped out: that their hearts may be melted away, their knees tremble, all their loins be weak, and their faces black as a pot.

Where is the dwelling of the lions and that pasture for the young lions where the lion went, the lioness there, the lion's whelp, and none terrifying?

But the lion spoiled enough for his young ones, and devoured for his lioness: he filled his dens with his prey, and his dwelling place with that he had ravished.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will set fire upon thy chariots that they shall smoke withal, and the sword shall devour thy young lions. I will make an end of thy spoiling from out of the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Woe to that bloodthirsty city, which is all full of lies and robbery, and will not leave off from ravishing.

Horsemen uplifting both the flashing sword, and the lightning spear, Aye, a mass of slain, and a weight of dead bridles, - and no end of corpses, so that they stumble upon their corpses.

And that for the great and manifold whoredom of the fair and beautiful harlot: which is a mistress of witchcraft, yea and selleth the people through her whoredom, and the nations through her witchcraft.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will pull thy clothes over thy head: that I may show thy nakedness among the Heathen, and thy shame among the kingdoms.

Yea, all they that look upon thee shall start back, and say, "Nineveh is destroyed!" Who will have pity upon thee? Where shall I seek one to comfort thee?

Art thou better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose bulwark is the sea, waters her wall.

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and that exceedingly great above measure. Put and Libya were her helpers,

All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!

In that place fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down, consuming you as locusts do. Multiply yourself like locusts, increase like swarming grasshoppers.

Thy crowned ones are as a locust, And thy princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, The sun hath risen, and it doth flee away, And not known is its place where they are.

Thy wound cannot be hid, thy plague is so sore. All they that hear this of thee, shall clap their hands over thee. For what is he, to whom thou hast not always been doing hurt?

The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen:

Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for devastation and violence are before me: and there are that raise strife and contention.

for the law is torn in pieces, and there can no right judgment go forth. And why? The ungodly is more set by than the righteous: this is the cause that wrong judgment proceedeth.

Look at the nations and observe—
be utterly astounded!
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.

For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.

Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen press proudly on. Yea, their horsemen come from far. They fly as an eagle that hastens to devour.

Then shall they take a fresh courage unto them, to go forth and do more evil, and so ascribe that power unto their God.