1Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin,

from the midst of Jerusalem!

Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,

and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem,

for evil looms out of the north

and great destruction.*

2I have likened daughter Zion

to the loveliest pasture.t^,*

3Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her.

They shall pitch their tents around her;

they shall pasture, all in their places.*

4“Prepare war against her;

up, and let us attack at noon!”

“Woe to us, for the day declines;

the shadows of evening lengthen!”*

5“Up, and let us attack by night,

and destroy her palaces!”*

6For thus says the Lord of hosts:

Cut down her trees;

cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.

This is the city that must be punished;u

there is nothing but oppression within her.*

7As a well keeps its water fresh,

so she keeps fresh her wickedness;

violence and destruction are heard within her;

sickness and wounds are ever before me.*

8Take warning, O Jerusalem,

or I shall turn from you in disgust

and make you a desolation,

an uninhabited land.*

9Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Gleanv thoroughly as a vine

the remnant of Israel;

like a grape gatherer, pass your hand again

over its branches.*

10To whom shall I speak and give warning,

that they may hear?

See, their ears are closed;w

they cannot listen.

The word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;

they take no pleasure in it.*

11But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;

I am weary of holding it in.

Pour it out on the children in the street

and on the gatherings of young men as well;

both husband and wife shall be taken,

the elderly and those full of days.*

12Their houses shall be turned over to others,

their fields and wives together;

for I will stretch out my hand

against the inhabitants of the land,

says the Lord.*

13For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone is greedy for unjust gain;

and from prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.*

14They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,

saying, “Peace, peace,”

when there is no peace.*

15They acted shamefully; they committed abomination,

yet they were not ashamed;

they did not know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,

says the Lord.

16Thus says the Lord:

Stand at the crossroads and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way lies; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

But they said, “We will not walk in it.”*

17Also I raised up sentinels for you:

“Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!”

But they said, “We will not give heed.”*

18Therefore hear, O nations,

and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.

19Hear, O earth; I am going to bring disaster on this people,

the fruit of their schemes,

because they have not given heed to my words,

and as for my teaching, they have rejected it.*

20Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet cane from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,

nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.*

21Therefore thus says the Lord:

See, I am laying before this people

stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;

parents and children together,

neighbor and friend shall perish.*

22Thus says the Lord:

See, a people is coming from the land of the north;

a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.*

23They grasp the bow and the javelin;

they are cruel and have no mercy;

their sound is like the roaring sea;

they ride on horses,

equipped like a warrior for battle,

against you, O daughter Zion!*

24“We have heard news of them;

our hands fall helpless;

anguish has taken hold of us,

pain as of a woman in labor.*

25Do not go out into the field

or walk on the road,

for the enemy has a sword;

terror is on every side.”*

26O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth

and roll in ashes;

make mourning as for an only child,

most bitter lamentation,

for suddenly the destroyer

will come upon us.*

27I have made you a tester and a refinerx among my people

so that you may know and test their ways.

28They are all stubbornly rebellious,

going about with slanders;

they are bronze and iron;

all of them act corruptly.*

29The bellows blow fiercely;

the lead is consumed by the fire;y

in vain the refining goes on,

for the wicked are not removed.

30They are called “rejected silver,”

for the Lord has rejected them.