1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD,

“If you will return to Me,

And if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight,

And not stray or waver,

2And if you swear [your oaths], ‘As the LORD lives,’

In truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they will glory.”

3For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season],

And do not sow among thorns.

4“Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the LORD

And remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way]

And burn and there will be no one to quench it,

Because of the evil of your acts.”

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Cry aloud and say,

‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go

Into the fortified cities.’

6“Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]!

Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile],

For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon),

And great destruction.

7“A lion has left his lair,

And a destroyer of nations is on his way.

He has gone out from his place

To desolate your land;

Your cities will be in ruins

Without an inhabitant.

8“For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning],

Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail,

For the fierce anger of the LORD

Has not turned back from us.” 9“It shall come about in that day,” says the LORD, “that the heart and courage of the king will fail (be paralyzed), and also the heart of the princes; the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded and horrified.”

10Then I said, “[a]Alas, Lord GOD! Surely You have completely deceived and misled this people and Jerusalem, [for the prophets represented You as] saying [to Your people], ‘You will have peace,’ but [in fact] a sword reaches to their throat.”

11In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the wilderness [comes at My command] against the daughter of My people--not [a wind] to winnow and not to cleanse [from chaff, as when threshing, but] 12a wind too strong and full for this comes at My word. Now I will also speak judgment against My people.”

13“Behold, the enemy comes up like clouds,

His chariots like the whirlwind;

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe (judgment is coming) to us, for we are ruined!”

14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,

That you may be saved.

How long will your wicked and immoral thoughts

Lodge within you?

15For a voice declares from Dan [far in the north],

And proclaims evil from [b]Mount Ephraim.

16“Warn the [neighboring] nations now [that our enemy is coming]!

Announce to Jerusalem,

‘Besiegers are coming from a far country,

And they lift their voices and shout against the cities of Judah.

17‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her on all sides,

Because she has rebelled against Me,’ says the LORD.

18“Your ways and your deeds

Have brought these things on you.

This is your tragedy and doom; how bitter,

How it has touched your heart!”

Lament over Judah’s Devastation