1  Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel

1  Hear ye this word of the Lord, even a lamentation, which I take up against you. The house of Israel is fallen; it shall no more rise.

1  Listen to this word, which I lift over you in lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it will no longer rise again.

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

3  For thus saith YHWH GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, of the house of Israel.

3  Therefore thus saith the Lord God; The city out of which there went forth a thousand, in it there shall be left a hundred, and in that out of which there went forth a hundred, there shall be left ten to the house of Israel.

3  For thus says the Lord God: In the city from which a thousand departed, a hundred will remain, and in that from which a hundred departed, ten will remain, in the house of Israel.

4  For thus saith YHWH unto the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live;

4  Wherefore 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 nought.

5  But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgala, and cross not over to the Well of the Oath: for Galgala shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall be as that which is not.

5  But do not be willing to seek Bethel, and do not be willing to enter Gilgal, and you will not cross into Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will be led into captivity, and Bethel will be useless.

6  Seek YHWH, and live--lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel--

6  Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live; lest the house of Joseph blaze as fire, and it devour him, and there shall be none to quench it for the house of Israel.

6  Seek the Lord and live. Otherwise, the house of Joseph may be destroyed with fire, and it will devour, and there will be no one who can extinguish Bethel.

7  Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast righteousness to the ground;

7  It is he that executes judgement in the height above, and he has established justice on the earth

7  You who turn justice into bitterness, and lower righteousness to the ground,

8  Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and bringeth on the shadow of death in the morning, and darkeneth the day into night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; YHWH is His name;

8  who makes all things, and changes them, and turns darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night: who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth: the Lord is his name

9  That causeth destruction to flash upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress.

9  who dispenses ruin to strength, and brings distress upon the fortress.

9  Who makes the weak to rule over the mighty, and exalts the meek over the proud.

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

10  They hated him that reproved in the gates, and abhorred holy speech.

10  They held hatred for the one who corrects at the gate, and they have abhorred the one who speaks perfectly.

11  Therefore, because ye trample upon the poor, and take from him exactions 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 thereof.

11  Therefore because they have smitten the poor with their fists, and ye have received of them choice gifts; ye have built polished houses, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted desirable vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine of them.

12  For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom, and that turn aside the needy in the gate.

12  For I know your many transgressions, and your sins are great, trampling on the just, taking bribes, and turning aside the judgement of the poor in the gates.

12  For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great; you oppress the just, you take a bribe, and you turn aside the cause of the poor in the gate from their right.

13  Therefore the prudent doth keep silence in such a time; for it is an evil time.

14  Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so YHWH, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.

14  Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. And the Lord God of hosts will be with you, just as you have asked.

15  Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that YHWH, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

15  We have hated evil, and loved good: and restore ye judgement in the gates; that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

15  Hate evil and love good, and establish judgment at the gate. Perhaps then the Lord God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

16  Therefore thus saith YHWH, the God of hosts, YHWH: Lamentation shall be in all the broad places, and they shall say in all the streets: 'Alas! alas!' and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing.

16  Therefore thus saith the Lord God Almighty; In all the streets shall be lamentations; and in all the ways shall it be said, Woe, woe! the husbandman shall be called to mourning and lamentation, and to them that are skilled in complaining.

16  Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Sovereign: In all the streets, there will be wailing. And in every place where they are outdoors, they will say, “Woe, woe!” And they will call the farmer to mourn, and those who know mourning to lamentation.

17  And in all vineyards shall be lamentation; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith YHWH.

17  And there shall be lamentation in all the ways; because I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

17  And in all the vineyards there will be wailing. For I will cross through your midst, says the Lord.

18  Woe unto you that desire the day of YHWH! Wherefore would ye have the day of the YHWH? It is darkness, and not light.

18  Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. What is it to you? The day of the Lord is this: darkness and not light.

18  Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? The day of the LORD? For it is a day of darkness and not light.

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

19  As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he should spring into his house, and lean his hands upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

19  It is as if a man flees from the face of a lion, only to have a bear meet him; or, he enters a house and leans with his hand against the wall, only to have a snake bite him.

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

20  Will not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

20  Such is the day of the LORD; it is darkness and not light; yea, it is a day of thick darkness and no brightness is in it.

21  I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

21  I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell your meat-offerings in your general assemblies.

21  I hate and have rejected your feasts; and I will not accept the odor from your gatherings.

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

22  Wherefore if ye should bring me your whole-burnt-sacrifices and meat-offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I have respect to your grand peace-offerings.

22  For if you offer me holocausts and your gifts, I will not receive them; and I will not look upon the vows of your fatness.

23  Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; and let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries.

23  Remove from me the sound of thy songs, and I will not hear the music of thine instruments.

23  Take away from me the tumult of your songs, and I will not listen to the canticles of your lyre.

24  But let justice well up as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

24  And judgment will be revealed like water, and justice like a mighty torrent.

25  Did ye bring unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

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

26  So shall ye take up Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

26  Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Raephan, the images of them which ye made for yourselves.

26  And you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch and the image of your idols: the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.

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

27  And I will carry you away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, the Almighty God is his name.

27  And I will cause you to go into captivity across Damascus, says the Lord. The God of hosts is his name.

6:1  Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

6:2  Pass ye unto Calneh, and see, and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines; are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?

2  O house of Israel, pass by all of you, and see; and pass by thence to Ematrabba; and thence descend to Geth of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, see if their coasts are greater than your coasts.

2  Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there into Hamath the great, and descend into Gath of the Philistines, and to the best kingdoms of these, if their limits are wider than your limits.

6:3  Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

3  Ye who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths;

3  You have been set aside for the day of disaster, and you approach the throne of iniquity.

6:4  That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

4  You sleep on beds of ivory, and you are lustful on your couches. You devour lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.

6:5  That thrum on the psaltery, that devise for themselves instruments of music, like David;

5  who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as abiding, not as fleeting pleasures;

6:6  That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph.

6  who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph.

6  You drink wine in bowls, and you anoint with the best ointments; and they suffer nothing over the grief of Joseph.

6:7  Therefore now shall they go captive at the head of them that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

7  Because of this, now they will depart at the head of those who go into captivity; and the faction of the lustful will be removed.

6:8  YHWH GOD hath sworn by Himself, saith YHWH, the God of hosts: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.

8  For the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off his city with all who inhabit it.

8  The Lord God has sworn by his own soul, the Lord God of hosts says: I detest the arrogance of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will hand over the city with its inhabitants.

6:9  And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

9  For if there were ten men remaining in one house, even they will die.

6:10  And when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house: 'Is there yet any with thee?' and he shall say: 'No'; then shall he say: 'Hold thy peace; for we must not make mention of the name of YHWH.'

10  But a remnant shall be left behind, and their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet any one else with thee?

11  And he shall say, No one else. And the other shall say, Be silent, that thou name not the name of the Lord.

10  And his closest relative will steal him away and will burn him, so that he may carry the bones out of the house. And he will say to him that is in the inner most rooms of the house, “Now is there any left that still belongs to you?”

11  And he will answer, “It is finished.” And he will say to him, “Be silent and do not call to mind the name of the Lord.”

6:11  For, behold, YHWH commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten into splinters, and the little house into chips.

11  For behold, the Lord has commanded, and he will strike the greater house with catastrophes, and the lesser house with divisions.

11  For, behold, the LORD will go forth and he will smite the great house and cause it to quiver, and the little house will he make desolate.

6:12  Do horses run upon the rocks? Doth one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;

12  Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for ye have turned judgement into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness

12  Can horses gallop across rocks, or is anyone able to plough with gazelles? For you have turned judgment into bitterness and the fruit of justice into wormwood.

6:13  Ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say: 'Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?'

13  ye who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength?

13  You rejoice in emptiness. You say, “Have we not, by our own strength, taken horns for ourselves?”

6:14  For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith YHWH, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the Brook of the Arabah.

14  For behold, O house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation, saith the Lord of hosts; and they shall afflict you so that ye shall not enter into Æmath, and as it were from the river of the wilderness.