1. "O Israel, if you would return, says the Lord, then be converted to me. If you remove your offense from before my face, then you will not be shaken.
2. And you will swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth and in judgment and in justice." And the Gentiles will bless him, and they will praise him.
3. For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: "Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns.
4. Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.
5. Declare it in Judah, and make it known in Jerusalem! Speak out and sound the trumpet in the land! Cry out strongly and say: 'Gather yourselves! And let us go forth to fortified cities!'
6. Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction.
7. The lion has ascended from his den, and the pillager of the nations has lifted himself up. He has gone forth from his place, so that he may set your land in desolation. Your cities will be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.
8. Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: 'For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.'
9. And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: The heart of the king will perish, with the heart of the princes. And the priests will be stupefied, and the prophets will be in consternation."