1. “If you will return, Israel,then return to me,” says the Lord.“If you will throw away your idols that I hate,then don’t wander away from me.
2. If you say when you make a promise,‘As surely as the Lord lives,’and you can say it in a truthful, honest, and right way,then the nations will be blessed by him,and they will praise him for what he has done.”
3. This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:“Plow your unplowed fields,and don’t plant seeds among thorns.
4. Give yourselves to the service of the Lord,and decide to obey him,people of Judah and people of Jerusalem.If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire,and no one will be able to put it out,because of the evil you have done.
5. “Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem:‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’Shout out loud and say,‘Come together!Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6. Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!Run for your lives, and don’t wait,because I am bringing disaster from the northThere will be terrible destruction.”
7. A lion has come out of his den;a destroyer of nations has begun to march.He has left his hometo destroy your land.Your towns will be destroyedwith no one left to live in them.
8. So put on rough cloth,show how sad you are, and cry loudly.The terrible anger of the Lordhas not turned away from us.
9. “When this happens,” says the Lord,“the king and officers will lose their courage.The priests will be terribly afraid,and the prophets will be shocked!”