1  ¹ Now muster your troops, O daughter² of troops;

siege is laid against us;

with a rod ^pthey strike the judge of Israel

on the cheek.

2  ^{3 q}But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of ^rJudah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ^sruler in Israel,

^twhose coming forth is ^ufrom of old,

from ancient days.

3  Therefore he shall give them up ^vuntil the time

when she who is in labor has given birth;

then ^wthe rest of his brothers shall return

to the people of Israel.

4  And he shall stand ^xand shepherd his flock ^yin the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now ^zhe shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

5  And he shall be ^atheir peace.

^bWhen the Assyrian comes into our land

and treads in our palaces,

then we will raise against him seven ^cshepherds

and eight princes of men;

6  they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

and the land of ^dNimrod at its entrances;

and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian

^bwhen he comes into our land

and treads within our border.

7  Then ^wthe remnant of Jacob shall be

in the midst of many peoples

like dew from the Lord,

like showers on the grass,

which delay not for a man

nor wait for the children of man.

8  And ^wthe remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples,

like a lion among the beasts of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

^ewhich, when it goes through, treads down

and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

9  Your hand shall ^fbe lifted up over your adversaries,

and all your enemies shall be cut off.

10  And ^gin that day, declares the Lord,

^hI will cut off your horses from among you

and will destroy your chariots;

11  ⁱand I will cut off the cities of your land

and throw down all your strongholds;

12  and I will cut off ^jsorceries from your hand,

and ^kyou shall have no more tellers of fortunes;

13  and ^lI will cut off your carved images

and ^myour pillars from among you,

ⁿand you shall bow down no more

to the work of your hands;

14  and I will root out your ^oAsherah images from among you

ⁱand destroy your cities.

15  And in anger and wrath ^pI will execute vengeance

on the nations that did not obey.

1  ^qHear what the Lord says:

Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice.

2  ^rHear, you mountains, ^sthe indictment of the Lord,

and you enduring foundations of the earth,

for the Lord has an indictment against his people,

and he will contend with Israel.

3  “O my people, ^twhat have I done to you?

^uHow have I wearied you? Answer me!

4  For ^vI brought you up from the land of Egypt

and ^wredeemed you from the house of slavery,

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and ^xMiriam.

5  O my people, remember ^ywhat Balak king of Moab devised,

and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from ^zShittim to Gilgal,

that you may know ^athe righteous acts of the Lord.”

6  ^b“With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before ^cGod on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7  ^dWill the Lord be pleased with⁴ thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

^eShall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8  He has told you, O man, what is good;

and ^fwhat does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,⁵

and to ^gwalk humbly with your God?

9  The voice of the Lord cries to the city—

and it is sound wisdom to fear ^hyour name:

“Hear of ⁱthe rod and of him who appointed it!⁶

10  Can I forget any longer the treasures⁷ of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11  Shall I acquit the man ^jwith wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12  Your⁸ rich men are ^kfull of violence;

your inhabitants ^lspeak lies,

and ^mtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

ⁿmaking you desolate because of your sins.

14  ^oYou shall eat, but not be satisfied,

and there shall be hunger within you;

you shall put away, but not preserve,

and what you preserve I will give to the sword.

15  ^pYou shall sow, but not reap;

you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;

you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

16  For you have kept the statutes of ^qOmri,⁹

and all the works of the house of ^rAhab;

and you have walked in their counsels,

that I may make you ^sa desolation, and your¹⁰ inhabitants ^sa hissing;

so you shall bear ^tthe scorn of my people.”

1  Woe is me! For I have become

^uas when the summer fruit has been gathered,

as when the grapes have been gleaned:

there is no cluster to eat,

no ^vfirst-ripe fig that my soul desires.

2  ^wThe godly has perished from the earth,

and ^xthere is no one upright among mankind;

^ythey all lie in wait for blood,

and ^zeach hunts the other with a net.

3  ^aTheir hands are on what is evil, to do it well;

^bthe prince and ^cthe judge ask for a bribe,

and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;

thus they weave it together.

4  The best of them is ^dlike a brier,

the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The day of ^eyour watchmen, of your punishment, has come;

^fnow their confusion is at hand.

5  ^gPut no trust in a neighbor;

have no confidence in a friend;

guard ^hthe doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your arms;¹¹

6  for ⁱthe son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

^ja man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

7  But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

^kI will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.

8  ^lRejoice not over me, O ^mmy enemy;

ⁿwhen I fall, I shall rise;

^owhen I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be a light to me.

9  ^pI will bear the indignation of the Lord

because I have sinned against him,

until ^qhe pleads my cause

and executes judgment for me.

^rHe will bring me out to the light;

I shall look upon his vindication.

10  Then ^smy enemy will see,

and shame will cover her who ^tsaid to me,

“Where is the Lord your God?”

^uMy eyes will look upon her;

now she will be trampled down

^vlike the mire of the streets.

11  ^wA day for the building of your walls!

In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12  In that day they¹² will come to you,

^yfrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

and from Egypt to ^zthe River,¹³

^afrom sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13  But ^bthe earth will be desolate

because of its inhabitants,

for the fruit of their deeds.

14  ^cShepherd your people ^dwith your staff,

the flock of your inheritance,

who dwell alone in a forest

^ein the midst of ^fa garden land;¹⁴

let them graze in Bashan and Gilead

as in the days of old.

15  ^gAs in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

I will show them¹⁵ marvelous things.

16  ^hThe nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;

ⁱthey shall lay their hands on their mouths;

their ears shall be deaf;

17  ^jthey shall lick the dust like a serpent,

like the crawling things of the earth;

^kthey shall come trembling out of their strongholds;

^lthey shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,

and they shall be in fear of you.

18  ^mWho is a God like you, ⁿpardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression

ⁿfor the remnant of his inheritance?

^oHe does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in steadfast love.

19  He will ^pagain have compassion on us;

^qhe will tread our iniquities underfoot.

^rYou will cast all our¹⁶ sins

into the depths of the sea.

20  ^sYou will show faithfulness to Jacob

and steadfast love to Abraham,

^tas you have sworn to our fathers

from the days of old.

2  ^cThe Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

^dthe Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries

and ^ekeeps wrath for his enemies.

3  ^fThe Lord is slow to anger and ^ggreat in power,

and ^hthe Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

ⁱHis way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

4  ^jHe rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

he dries up all the rivers;

^kBashan and ^lCarmel wither;

the bloom of ^kLebanon withers.

5  ^mThe mountains quake before him;

ⁿthe hills melt;

the earth heaves before him,

^othe world and all who dwell in it.

6  ^pWho can stand before his indignation?

Who can endure the heat of his anger?

His wrath ^qis poured out like fire,

and ^rthe rocks are broken into pieces by him.

7  ^sThe Lord is good,

^ta stronghold in the day of trouble;

^uhe knows those who take refuge in him.

8  But ^vwith an overflowing flood

he will make a complete end of the adversaries,¹

and ^wwill pursue his enemies into darkness.

9  What ^xdo you plot against the Lord?

^yHe will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

10  For they are ^zlike entangled thorns,

like drunkards as they drink;

^athey are consumed like stubble fully dried.

11  From you came one

^bwho plotted evil against the Lord,

a worthless counselor.

12  Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and many,

^cthey will be cut down and pass away.

^dThough I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more.

13  And now ^eI will break his yoke from off you

and will burst your bonds apart.”

14  The Lord has given commandment about you:

^f“No more shall your name be perpetuated;

from ^gthe house of your gods I will cut off

the carved image and the metal image.

^hI will make your grave, ⁱfor you are vile.”

15  ^{2 j}Behold, upon the mountains, ^kthe feet of him

who brings good news,

who publishes peace!

^lKeep your feasts, O Judah;

^mfulfill your vows,

ⁿfor never again shall the worthless pass through you;

he is utterly cut off.

1  ^oThe scatterer has come up against you.

^pMan the ramparts;

watch the road;

dress for battle;³

collect all your strength.

2  For ^qthe Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob

as the majesty of Israel,

for plunderers have plundered them

and ^rruined their branches.

3  The shield of his mighty men is red;

^shis soldiers are clothed in scarlet.

The chariots come with flashing metal

on the day he musters them;

the cypress spears are brandished.

4  ^tThe chariots race madly through the streets;

they rush to and fro through the squares;

they gleam like torches;

they dart like lightning.

5  He remembers ^uhis officers;

^vthey stumble as they go,

they hasten to the wall;

the siege tower⁴ is set up.

6  ^wThe river gates are opened;

the palace ^xmelts away;

7  its mistress⁵ is ^ystripped;⁶ she is carried off,

her slave girls ^zlamenting,

moaning like doves

and beating their breasts.

8  ^bNineveh is like a pool

whose waters run away.⁷

“Halt! Halt!” they cry,

but ^cnone turns back.

9  Plunder the silver,

plunder the gold!

There is no end of the treasure

or of the wealth of all precious things.

10  ^dDesolate! Desolation and ruin!

^eHearts melt and ^fknees tremble;

^ganguish is in all loins;

^hall faces grow pale!

11  Where is the lions’ den,

the feeding place of ⁱthe young lions,

where the lion and lioness went,

where his cubs were, with ^jnone to disturb?

12  ^kThe lion tore enough for his cubs

and ^lstrangled prey for his lionesses;

he filled his caves with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.

1  Woe to ^pthe bloody city,

all full of lies and plunder—

^qno end to the prey!

2  The crack of the whip, and ^rrumble of the wheel,

^sgalloping horse and ^tbounding chariot!

3  Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and ^uglittering spear,

^vhosts of slain,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies!

4  And all for the countless whorings of the ^wprostitute,

^xgraceful and of deadly charms,

who betrays nations with her whorings,

and peoples with her charms.

5  ^mBehold, I am against you,

declares the Lord of hosts,

and ^ywill lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will make nations look at ^zyour nakedness

and kingdoms at your shame.

6  I will throw filth at you

and ^atreat you with contempt

and make you ^ba spectacle.

7  And all who look at you ^cwill shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is ^dNineveh; ^ewho will grieve for her?”

^fWhere shall I seek comforters for you?

8  ^gAre you better than ^hThebes⁹

that sat ⁱby the Nile,

with water around her,

her rampart a sea,

and water her wall?

9  ^jCush was her strength;

Egypt too, and that without limit;

^kPut and the ^lLibyans were her¹⁰ helpers.

10  ^mYet she became an exile;

she went into captivity;

ⁿher infants were dashed in pieces

at the head of every street;

for her honored men ^olots were cast,

^pand all her great men were bound in chains.

11  ^qYou also will be drunken;

you will go into hiding;

^ryou will seek a refuge from the enemy.

12  All your fortresses are ^slike fig trees

with first-ripe figs—

if shaken they fall

into the mouth of the eater.

13  Behold, your troops

^tare women in your midst.

The gates of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has devoured your bars.

14  ^uDraw water for the siege;

^rstrengthen your forts;

go into the clay;

tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick mold!

15  There will the fire devour you;

the sword will cut you off.

It will ^vdevour you ^wlike the locust.

Multiply yourselves ^wlike the locust;

multiply ^wlike the grasshopper!

16  You increased ^xyour merchants

more than the stars of the heavens.

^wThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.

17  Your ^zprinces¹¹ are ^wlike grasshoppers,

^ayour scribes¹² like clouds of locusts

settling on the fences

in a day of cold—

when the sun rises, they fly away;

no one knows where they are.

18  Your shepherds ^bare asleep,

O king of Assyria;

^cyour nobles slumber.

Your people ^dare scattered on the mountains

with none to gather them.

19  There is no easing your hurt;

^eyour wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

^fclap their hands over you.

For ^gupon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?

2  O Lord, ^bhow long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you ^c“Violence!”

and you will not save?

3  ^dWhy do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction ^cand violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4  ^eSo the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

^fFor the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted.

5  ^g“Look among the nations, and see;

wonder and be astounded.

^hFor I am doing a work in your days

that you would not believe if told.

6  For behold, ⁱI am raising up the Chaldeans,

that bitter and hasty nation,

^jwho march through the breadth of the earth,

^kto seize dwellings not their own.

7  They are dreaded and fearsome;

^ltheir justice and dignity go forth from themselves.

8  ^mTheir horses are swifter than leopards,

more fierce than ⁿthe evening wolves;

their horsemen press proudly on.

Their horsemen come from afar;

^othey fly like an eagle swift to devour.

9  They all come ^pfor violence,

all their faces forward.

They gather captives ^rlike sand.

10  At kings they scoff,

and at rulers they laugh.

^sThey laugh at every fortress,

for ^tthey pile up earth and take it.

11  Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,

^uguilty men, ^vwhose own might is their god!”

12  Are you not ^wfrom everlasting,

O Lord my God, my Holy One?

^xWe shall not die.

O Lord, ^yyou have ordained them as a judgment,

and you, O ^zRock, have established them for reproof.

13  You who are ^aof purer eyes than to see evil

and cannot look at wrong,

^bwhy do you idly look at traitors

and ^cremain silent when the wicked swallows up

the man more righteous than he?

14  You make mankind like the fish of the sea,

like crawling things that have no ruler.

15  ^dHe¹ brings all of them up ^ewith a hook;

he drags them out with his net;

he gathers them in his dragnet;

so he rejoices and is glad.

16  ^fTherefore he sacrifices to his net

and makes offerings to his dragnet;

for by them he lives in luxury,²

and his food is rich.

17  Is he then to keep on emptying his net

^gand mercilessly killing nations forever?