Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
1 Flee for safety, [Judg. 1:21] O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in See 2 Sam. 14:2Tekoa,
and raise a signal on Neh. 3:14Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms See ch. 1:14out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
See 2 Kgs. 19:21the daughter of Zion.6:2 Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture
3 [ch. 23:1] Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
ch. 4:17they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 ch. 22:7;Joel 3:9;[ch. 51:27] "Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack ch. 15:8at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!"
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
[Deut. 20:20] "Cut down her trees;
2 Kgs. 19:32;Isa. 37:33;Ezek. 26:8;Luke 19:43cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be Luke 19:44punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 Isa. 57:20As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
Ps. 55:9;Ezek. 7:11,23violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Ezek. 23:18;[Hos. 9:12] lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you See ch. 4:7a desolation,
an uninhabited land."
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
[Deut. 24:21]"They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches."
10 Isa. 28:9;53:1To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
[Ex. 6:12;Acts 7:51] Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
ch. 7:26they cannot listen;
behold, ch. 20:8the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
ch. 20:9I am weary of holding it in.
ch. 9:21"Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
[Lam. 2:21] both husband and wife ch. 8:9shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 For ver. 12-15, see ch. 8:10-12Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,"
declares the Lord.
13 [ch. 31:34;44:12;Jonah 3:5] "For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone Isa. 56:11is greedy for unjust gain;
and from ch. 14:18;23:11;Mic. 3:11;See ch. 5:31prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ch. 4:10;14:13;23:17;Ezek. 13:10;Mic. 3:5;[John 14:27] ‘Peace, peace,’
Isa. 48:22;57:21;Ezek. 7:25when there is no peace.
15 [ch. 3:3;8:12] Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
[ver. 6]at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,"
says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
"Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for ch. 18:15;[Isa. 8:20;Mal. 4:4;Luke 16:29] the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
Matt. 11:29;[Ps. 116:7]and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 Isa. 56:10;[Isa. 21:11] I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to Isa. 58:1;[ch. 4:19] the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ch. 44:16‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
Prov. 1:31the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 Isa. 1:11What use to me is Isa. 43:23;60:6frankincense that comes from See 1 Kgs. 10:1Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
ch. 7:21,22;14:12;Ps. 40:6;Isa. 1:11;Amos 5:21Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ezek. 3:20‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’"
22 Thus says the Lord:
For ver. 22-24, see ch. 50:41-43"Behold, a people is coming See ch. 1:13from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from ch. 25:32;31:8the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are Isa. 13:9,18cruel and have no mercy;
Isa. 17:12the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!"
24 We have heard the report of it;
ch. 38:4;49:24;Ezek. 21:7;See 2 Sam. 4:1;Ezek. 7:17our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
See Isa. 13:8pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
Ps. 31:13;Lam. 2:22;[Job 18:11]terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, See ch. 4:8;Esth. 4:1put on sackcloth,
and ch. 25:34;Ezek. 27:30;[Lam. 3:16;Mic. 1:10] roll in ashes;
Amos 8:10;Zech. 12:10make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 "I have made you [ch. 1:18] a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and ch. 9:7test their ways.
28 ch. 5:23They are all stubbornly rebellious,
ch. 9:4;[Lev. 19:16] going about with slanders;
they are Ezek. 22:18,20bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The [See ver. 28above] bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
[Isa. 1:25]in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 Isa. 1:22;Ezek. 22:19,20Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them."