¹ In the first^◦ year of^◦ Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head on his bed; then he wrote the dream, the sum of the words that he said.

¹ If thou wilt return, O Israel, says^◦ Jehovah, return to^▵ Me; and if thou wilt remove thy detestable things from My face, and not shift.

² And thou shalt promise, by the life of Jehovah, in truth, in judgment, and in justice; and the nations shall be blessed in Him, and in Him shall they glory^◦.

³ For thus says Jehovah to the men^◦ of Judah and Jerusalem, Newly·​·plow for yourselves newly·​·plowed ground, and sow not into^▵ thorns.

⁴ Be circumcised to Jehovah, and remove the foreskins of your heart, ye men^◦ of Judah and ye who dwell·​·in Jerusalem; lest My fury go·​·out as fire, and burn, and none can quench, on·​·account·​·of^◦ the evil of your actions.

⁵ Tell ye in Judah, and make it heard in Jerusalem; and say, Sound ye the shophar^* in the land; call, make·​·full, and say, Be gathered, and let us come into^▵ the fortified cities

⁶ Lift the standard toward Zion; muster·​·together^*, stand not still: for I^▵ will bring evil from the north, and a great breaking.

⁷ The lion has come·​·up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations is on his journey; he has gone·​·out from his place to set thy land for a desolation; thy cities shall be ruined, with none dwelling there.

⁸ For^▵ this gird you with sackcloth, wail and howl; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned·​·back from us.

⁹ And it shall be in that^◦ day, says^◦ Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.

¹⁰ And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovih^*! surely beguiling Thou hast beguiled this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace to you; but the sword reaches even·​·to the soul.

¹¹ At that^◦ time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A clear wind of the slopes in the wilderness in the way of the daughter of My people, not to winnow, and not to purify,

¹² Even a full wind from those places shall come unto Me; now also will I^◦ speak judgments against them.

¹³ Behold, he shall go·​·up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a storm; his horses are·​·swifter than eagles. Woe to us! For we are devastated.

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from evil, so·​·that thou mayest be saved. How^▵ long shall thy thoughts of iniquity^◦ lodge among thee?

¹⁵ For a voice tells from Dan, and makes iniquity^◦ heard from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶ Make· ye ·mention to the nations; behold, Make it heard against Jerusalem, that observers come from a far·​·off land, and give their voice against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷ As keepers of a field, are they against her all around; because^◦ she has rebelled·​·against Me, says^◦ Jehovah.

¹⁸ Thy way and thine actions have done these things to thee; this is thine evil, for it is bitter, for it reaches even·​·to thy heart.

¹⁹ My bowels, my bowels! I travailed in the walls^◦ of my heart; my heart makes·​·a·​·noise to me; I am· not ·silent, for the voice of the shophar I have heard, my soul, the blast of war.

²⁰ Breaking upon breaking is called; for all the land is devastated; suddenly are my tabernacles devastated, and my curtains in a moment.

²¹ How^▵ long shall I see the standard, and hear the voice of the shophar?

²² For My people is stupid, they know Me not; they^◦ are senseless sons, and they have no^◦ understanding; they^◦ are wise to do·​·evil, but to do·​·good, they^◦ do not know how.

²³ I looked^◦ to the earth, and, behold, it was a void and emptiness^◦; and to^▵ the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴ I saw the mountains, and, behold, they quaked, and all the hills moved swiftly.

²⁵ I saw, and, behold, there was no man, and all the fowls of the heavens fled·​·away.

²⁶ I saw, and behold, Carmel was a wilderness, and all its cities were torn·​·down at the face of Jehovah, at the face of His fierce anger.

²⁷ For thus has Jehovah said, All the land shall be desolate; but I will not make a complete end.

²⁸ On·​·account·​·of this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above blacken, because^◦ I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn·​·back from it.

²⁹ Every city shall run·​·away from the voice of the horseman and of him who shoots^◦ the bow; they shall come into thick·​·clouds, and go·​·up into the boulders; every city shall be forsaken, and no man^◦ shall dwell in them.

³⁰ And when thou^◦ art devastated, what wilt thou do? If^▫ thou clothest thyself with scarlet twice-dyed, if^▫ thou decoratest thyself with decorations of gold, if^▫ thou dost rend^* thine eyes with stibium^*, in vain shalt thou make· thyself ·beautiful; they who dote will reject thee, they will seek thy soul.

³¹ For I have heard a voice as of a woman sick, and the adversity as of her that is having·​·a·​·firstborn son, the voice of the daughter of Zion, she puffs·​·out, spreads the palms of her hands, saying, Woe is me now^◦! For my soul is wearied because of killers.