Why do they that grieve me prevail against me? My wound is severe; when shall I be healed? It has indeed become to me as deceitful water that has no faithfulness.

and all that He did to the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth.

And our elders, and all that inhabit our land, when they heard, [they] spoke to us, saying, Take to yourselves provisions for the way, and go to meet them; and you shall say to them, We are your servants, and now make a covenant with us.

MEM. Why should a living man complain, a man concerning his sin?

I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He make good my cause: He also shall maintain my right, and shall bring me out to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.

Thus says the Lord: I have brought on [you] destruction. Your stroke is painful.

For I will bring about your healing, I will heal you of your grievous wound, says the Lord; for you are called Dispersed: she is your prey, for no one seeks after her.

Go up to Gilead, and take balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt. In vain have you multiplied your medicines; there is no help for you.

And He has erred in my judgment: my wound is severe without unrighteousness of mine.

And He will give quiet, and who will condemn? And He will hide His face, and who shall see Him? Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man, also:

therefore shall this sin be to you as a wall suddenly falling when a strong city has been taken, of which the fall is very close at hand.

And its fall shall be as the breaking of an earthen vessel, [as] small fragments of a pitcher, so that you should not find among them a sherd, with which you might take up fire, and with which you should draw a little water.

Therefore I [will be] as consternation to Ephraim, and as a goad to the house of Judah.

And Ephraim saw his disease, and Judah his pain; then Ephraim went to the Assyrians, and sent ambassadors to King Jareb: but he could not heal you, and your pain shall by no means cease from you.

For her plague has become grievous; for it has come even to Judah; and has reached to the gate of My people, even to Jerusalem.

For behold, a day comes burning as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch.

But to you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing [shall be] in His wings: and you shall go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds.

All your friends have forgotten you; they shall not ask [about you] at all, for I have smitten you with the stroke of the enemy, [even] severe correction. Your sins have abounded above all your iniquity.

Your apostasy shall correct you, and your wickedness shall reprove you. Know then, and see, that your forsaking Me [has been] bitter to you, says the Lord your God; and I have taken no pleasure in you, says the Lord your God.

And where are your gods which you have made for yourself? Will they arise and save [you] in the time of your affliction? For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal.

In vain have I smitten your children; you have not received correction. A sword has devoured your prophets as a destroying lion; yet you feared not.

Therefore has a lion out of the forest smitten them, and a wolf has destroyed them, even to [their] houses, and a leopard has watched against their cities. All that go forth from them shall be hunted, for they have multiplied their ungodliness, they have strengthened themselves in their backslidings.

They became as wanton horses- each one neighed after his neighbor's wife.

Your transgressions have turned away these things, and your sins have removed good things from you.

As a snare which has been set is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore have they grown great, and become rich.

Shall I not punish for these things? Says the Lord: and shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

the prophets utter unrighteous prophecies, and the priests have clapped their hands, and My people have loved it! And what will you do for the future?

For thus says the Lord, Cut down her trees, array a numerous force against Jerusalem. O false city, she is full of oppression.

As a cistern cools water, so her wickedness cools her, ungodliness and misery shall be heard in her, [as] continually before her.

For from the least of them even to the greatest they have all committed iniquity; from the priest even to the false prophet they have all dealt falsely.

But seeing you have trusted in lying words, whereby you shall not be profited;

so that it is evil with you; yet have you come, and stood before Me in the house which is called by My name, and you have said, We have refrained from doing all these abominations.

Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? Then would I weep for this my people day and night, [even] for the slain of the daughter of my people.

And they have bent their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not faithfulness has prevailed upon the earth; for they have gone on from evil to evil, and have not known Me, says the Lord.

Everyone will mock his friend; they will not speak truth; their tongue has learned to speak falsehoods; they have committed iniquity, they ceased not, so as to return.

Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I will try them with fire, and prove them; for I will do [thus] because of the wickedness of the daughter of My people.

Shall I not punish them for these things? Says the Lord. And shall not My soul be avenged on such a people as this?

For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have you set up altars to burn incense to Baal.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah alone did evil in My sight from their youth.

because of all the wickedness of the children of Israel and Judah, which they have done to provoke Me, they and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

and they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, by their uncleannesses.

And all the great men of Judah, and the priests, and the people of the land transgressed abundantly in the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord which [was] in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless they sneered at His messengers, and despised His words, and mocked His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose up against His people, till there was no remedy.

and I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded, O my God, to lift up my face to You; for our transgressions have abounded over our head, and our trespasses have increased even to heaven.

From the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass until this day; and because of our iniquities we, and our kings, and our children, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the Gentiles by the sword, by captivity, by spoil, and with shame of our face, as at this day.

And after all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds, and our great trespass, [it is clear] that there is none such as our God, for You have lightly visited our iniquities, and given us deliverance;

But they turned, and revolted from You, and cast Your law behind their backs; and they killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them back to You, and they worked great provocations.

But when they rested, they did evil again before You, so You left them in the hands of their enemies, and they ruled over them; and they cried again to You, and You heard from heaven, and delivered them in Your great mercy.

Yet You had patience with them for many years, and testified to them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets: but they hearkened not; so You gave them into the hand of the nations of the land.

And now, O our God, the powerful, the great, the mighty, and the terrible, keeping Your covenant and Your mercy, let not all this trouble seem little in Your sight which has come upon us, and our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and upon all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria even to this day.

And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not performed Your law, and have not given heed to Your commandments, and [have not kept] Your testimonies which You testified to them.

Behold, we are servants this day, and [as for] the land which You gave to our fathers, to eat the fruit of it and the good things of it, behold, we are servants upon it;

Alas, sinful nation, a people full of sins, an evil seed, lawless children; you have forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Why should you be smitten anymore, transgressing more and more? The whole head is pained, and the whole heart sad.

How has the faithful city of Zion, [once] full of judgment, become a harlot! Where righteousness lodged, but now murderers.

Your princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows.

And I made a hedge round it, and dug a trench, and planted a choice vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a place for the wine vat in it; and I waited [for it] to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth thorns.

Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? Or has He made His ear heavy, so that He should not hear?

For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness.

For our iniquity is great before You, and our sins have risen up against us; for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds.

And we have turned back judgment, and righteousness has departed afar off; for truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight [path].

HE. Her oppressors have become the head, and her enemies have prospered; for the Lord has afflicted her because of the multitude of her sins. Her young children have gone into captivity before the face of the oppressor.

MEM. For the sins of her prophets, and iniquities of her priests, who shed righteous blood in the midst of her,

The crown has fallen from our head: yea, woe to us! For we have sinned.

For this has grief come; our heart is sorrowful: for this our eyes are darkened.

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

and you shall say, Thus says the Lord to Jerusalem: Your root and your birth are of the land of Canaan: your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.

Nor did My eye pity you, to do for you one of all these things, to feel at all for you; but you were cast out on the face of the field, because of the deformity of your person, in the day in which you were born.

increase; I have made you as the springing grass of the field. So you increased and grew, and entered into great cities: your breasts were set, and your hair grew, whereas you were naked and bare.

And I washed you in water, and washed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.

and decked you also with ornaments, and put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace on your neck.

So you were adorned with gold and silver; and your clothing was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate fine flour and oil and honey, and became extremely beautiful.

But you trusted in your beauty, and went a-whoring because of your fame, and poured out your fornication on every passer by.

And you took your fair ornaments of My gold and of My silver, of what I gave you, and you made for yourself male images, and you committed harlotry with them.

And [you took] My bread which I gave you, ([yea,] I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey) and set them before them for a sweet-smelling savor; yes, it was so, says the Lord.

and slain your children, and gave them up, in offering them up as a sacrifice.

And it came to pass after all your wickedness, says the Lord,

and on the head of every road you set up your fornications, and defiled your beauty, and opened your feet to every passer by, and multiplied your fornication.

And if I stretch out My hand against you, then will I abolish your statutes, and deliver [you] up to the will of those that hate you, [even to] the daughters of the Philistines that turned you aside from the way in which you sinned.

And you multiplied your covenants with the land of the Chaldeans; and not even with these were you satisfied.

You have built a house of harlotry at the head of every road, and have set up your high place in every street; and you became as a harlot gathering payments.

She has even given rewards to all that went a-whoring after her, and you have given rewards to all your lovers, yea, you loaded them with rewards, that they should come to you from every side for your fornication.

Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord:

Therefore, behold, I [will] gather all your lovers with whom you have consorted, and all whom you have loved, with all whom you hated; and I will gather them against you round about, and will expose your wickedness to them, and they shall see all your shame.

And I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall break down your house of harlotry, and destroy your high place; and they shall strip you of your garments, and shall take your proud ornaments, and leave you naked and bare.

And they shall burn your houses with fire, and shall execute vengeance on you in the sight of many women; and I will turn you back from harlotry, and I will no more give [you] rewards.

Because you did not remember the days of your youth, and you grieved Me in all these things; therefore, behold, I have recompensed your ways upon your head, says the Lord; for thus have you wrought ungodliness above all your [other] iniquities.

As is the mother, so is your mother's daughter: you are she that has rejected her husband and her children; and the sisters of your sisters have rejected their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and [your] father an Amorite.

Yet notwithstanding you have not walked in their ways, neither have you done according to their iniquities within a little, but you have exceeded them in all your ways.

Moreover this was the sin of your sister Sodom- pride. She and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread [and] in abundance; this belonged to her and her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy.

Also Samaria has not sinned according to half of your sins; but you have multiplied your iniquities beyond them, and you have justified your sisters in all your iniquities which you have committed.

And I will turn their captivity, [even] the captivity of Sodom and her daughters; and I will turn the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; and I will turn your captivity in the midst of them;

And your sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were at the beginning, and you and your daughters shall be restored as you were at the beginning.

before your wickedness was discovered, even now you are the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, [even] of the daughters of the Philistines that compass you round about.

Thus says the Lord: I will even do to you as you have done, as you have dealt shamefully in these things to transgress My covenant.

Then you shall remember your way, and shall be utterly dishonored when you receive your elder sisters with your younger ones, and I will give them to you for building up, but not by your covenant.

that you may remember, and be ashamed, and may no more be able to open your mouth for your shame, when I am reconciled to you for all that you have done, says the Lord.

And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the fifteenth day of the month, there came men of the elders of the house of Israel to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.

Son of man, speak to the elders of the house of Israel, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: Have you come to inquire of Me? [As] I live, I will not be inquired of by you, says the Lord.

and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: From the day that I chose the house of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was known to them in the land of Egypt, and helped them with My hand, saying, I am the Lord your God;

And I said to them, Let everyone cast away the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the devices of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

But I acted [so] that My name should not be at all profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they are, among whom I was made known to them in their sight, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

And I gave them My commandments, and made known to them My ordinances, all which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them.

And I said to the house of Israel in the wilderness, Walk in My commandments: but they walked not [in them], and they rejected My ordinances, which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them; and they grievously profaned My Sabbaths. And I said that I would pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

But I lifted up My hand against them in the wilderness once for all, that I would not bring them into the land which I gave them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is sweeter than all lands;

Yet My eyes spared them, so as [not] to destroy them utterly, and I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

I [am] the Lord your God; walk in My commandments, and keep My ordinances, and do them;

But they provoked Me, and their children walked not in My commandments, and they took no heed to My ordinances to do them, which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them, and they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said that I would pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish My anger upon them.

I lifted up My hand against them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles, [and] disperse them in the countries;

So I gave them commandments [that were] not good, and ordinances in which they should not live.

Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: In this too have your fathers provoked Me in their trespasses in which they transgressed against Me.

And I said to them, What is Bamah, that you go in there? And they called its name Bamah, until this day.

and [do you pollute yourselves] with the firstfruits of your gifts, in the offerings wherewith you pollute yourselves in all your imaginations, until this day; and shall I answer you, O house of Israel? [As] I live, says the Lord, I will not answer you, neither shall this thing come upon your spirit.

Therefore, [as] I live, says the Lord, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath.

And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and will plead with you there face to face.

And I will cause you to pass under My rod, and I will bring you in by number.

And [as for] you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord, [even] the Lord: Put away each one his [evil] practices, and hereafter if you hearken to Me, then shall you no more profane My holy name by your gifts and by devices.

I will accept you with a sweet-smelling savor, when I bring you out from the nations, and take you out of the countries in which you have been dispersed; and I will be sanctified among you in the sight of the nations.

And you shall there remember your ways, and your devices in which you defiled yourselves; and you shall bewail yourselves for all your wickedness.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

and you shall say to the forest of Negev, Hear the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord, [even] the Lord: Behold, I [will] kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour in you every green tree, and every dry tree. The flame that is kindled shall not be quenched, and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north.

And I said, Not so, O Lord God! They say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable?

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And you shall say, Thus says the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself;

to those near you, and to those far away; and they shall mock you, [you that are] notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities.

In you they have reviled father and mother; and in you they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger; they have oppressed the orphan and widow.

[There are] robbers in you, to shed blood in you; and in you they have eaten upon the mountains; they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of you.

They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor's wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in you they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father.

And if I shall smite My hand at [your iniquities] which you have accomplished, which you have wrought, and at your blood that has been shed in the midst of you,

And I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you in the countries, and your uncleanness shall be removed out of you.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: Because you have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

And I will blow upon you in the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

[ 3:1A] Alas the glorious and ransomed city.

Her princes within her were as roaring lions, her judges as the wolves of Arabia; they remained not till the morning.

But the righteous Lord is in the midst of her, and He will never do an unjust thing: morning by morning He will bring out His judgment to the light, and it is not hidden, and He knows not injustice by extortion, nor injustice in strife.