| 6:1 | Impending Destruction from the NorthThe Destruction of Judah "O you children of Benjamin,Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem; For disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction. |
| 6:2 | I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman. |
| 6:3 | The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place." |
| 6:4 | Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening. |
| 6:5 | Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces." |
| 6:6 | For thus has the LORD of hosts said:"Cut down trees, And build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst. |
| 6:7 | As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds. |
| 6:8 | Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited." |
| 6:9 | Thus says the LORD of hosts:"They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches." |
| 6:10 | To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it. |
| 6:11 | Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in. "I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days. |
| 6:12 | And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," says the LORD. |
| 6:13 | Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely. |
| 6:14 | They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, "Peace, peace!' When there is no peace. |
| 6:15 | Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD. |
| 6:16 | Thus says the LORD:"Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it.' |
| 6:17 | Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, "Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, "We will not listen.' |
| 6:18 | Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. |
| 6:19 | Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people-- The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it. |
| 6:20 | For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me." |
| 6:21 | Therefore thus says the LORD:"Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish." |
| 6:22 | Thus says the LORD:"Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. |
| 6:23 | They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion." |
| 6:24 | We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. |
| 6:25 | Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. |
| 6:26 | O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. |
| 6:27 | I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way. |
| 6:28 | They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters; |
| 6:29 | The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off. |
| 6:30 | People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them." |