1. O ye sons of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem and blow the shofar in Tekoa and set up as a sign smoke in Bethhaccerem; for evil appears out of the north wind and great destruction.
2. I shall liken the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
3. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed each one his portion.
4. Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up towards the south. Woe unto us! for the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5. Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6. For thus hath the Lord of the hosts said, Hew ye down trees and cast a mount against Jerusalem; this is the city that all of her is to be visited; there is violence in the midst of her.
7. As the waters never cease to flow from a fountain, so her wickedness never ceases to flow; injustice and robbery is heard in her; in my presence continually, sickness and wounds.
8. Chastise Jerusalem lest peradventure my soul be disjointed from thee, lest peradventure I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
9. Thus hath the Lord of the hosts said, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
10. To whom shall I speak, and give warning that they may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken, behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11. Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I have worked hard to hold myself in from pouring it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for the husband with the wife shall also be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.
13. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them each one is given to greed; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsely.
14. They treat also the destruction of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? no, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore, they shall fall among those that shall fall: at the time that I visit them they shall fall, saith the Lord.
16. Thus hath the Lord said, Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where the good way is and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the shofar. But they said, We will not hearken.
18. Therefore hear, ye Gentiles, and know, O congregation of Gentiles.
19. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts because they have not hearkened unto my words, and they hated my law.
20. To what purpose does this incense come to me from Sheba and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not according to my will, nor are your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
22. Thus hath the Lord said, Behold, a people come from the land of the north wind, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
23. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and they shall have no mercy; their voice shall roar like the sea; and they shall ride upon horses set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24. We have heard the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail.
25. Do not go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
26. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
27. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people; thou shalt know and examine their way.
28. They are all rebellious princes; they walk with deception: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
29. The bellows are burned; the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melts in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away.
30. Reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord has rejected them.