¹ Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

² The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise! she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

³ For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went forth by a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

⁴ For thus saith the LORD to the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

⁵ But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to naught.

⁶ Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

⁷ Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness on the earth,

⁸ Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shades of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: JEHOVAH is his name:

⁹ That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

¹⁰ They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

¹¹ Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

¹² For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

¹³ Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

¹⁴ Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

¹⁵ Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

¹⁶ Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to wailing.

¹⁷ And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

¹⁸ Woe to you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

¹⁹ As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

²⁰ Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

²¹ I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

²² Though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.

²³ Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

²⁴ But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

²⁵ Have ye offered to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

²⁶ But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

²⁷ Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

¹ The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

² Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

³ To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴ A high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

⁵ The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

⁶ The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro by them that seek death.

⁷ The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

⁸ The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.

⁹ It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

¹⁰ The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.

¹¹ When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

¹² The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

¹³ Whoever stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom, strong wrath.

¹⁵ It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶ The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

¹⁷ He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

¹⁸ The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

¹⁹ It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

²⁰ There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

²¹ He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

²² A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of its confidence.

²³ Whoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

²⁴ Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.

²⁵ The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor.

²⁶ He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?

²⁸ A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.

²⁹ A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.

³⁰ There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.

³¹ The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is from the LORD.