1
At that time, says the
4
You shall say to them, Thus says the
When people fall, do they not get up again?
If they go astray, do they not turn back?
5
Why then has this people 1 turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They have held fast to deceit,
they have refused to return.
6
I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, "What have I done!"
All of them turn to their own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7
Even the stork in the heavens
knows its times;
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane 2
observe the time of their coming;
but my people do not know
the ordinance of the
8
How can you say, "We are wise,
and the law of the
when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie?
9
The wise shall be put to shame,
they shall be dismayed and taken;
since they have rejected the word of the
what wisdom is in them?
10
Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest
everyone deals falsely.
11
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, "Peace, peace,"
when there is no peace.
12
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination;
yet they were not at all ashamed,
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
+qsays the
13
When I wanted to gather them, says the
there are 3 no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them. 4
14
Why do we sit still?
Gather together, let us go into the fortified cities
and perish there;
for the
and has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the
15
We look for peace, but find no good,
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
16
The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan;
at the sound of the neighing of their stallions
the whole land quakes.
They come and devour the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who live in it.
17
See, I am letting snakes loose among you,
adders that cannot be charmed,
and they shall bite you,
+qsays the
18
My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
19
Hark, the cry of my poor people
from far and wide in the land:
"Is the
Is her King not in her?"
("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?")
20
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved."
21
For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
22
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?