Tanakh & Talmud. Various Authors
not hearken unto them. 12Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer; but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the shameful thing, even altars to offer unto Baal. 14Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto Me for their trouble.'
15What hath My beloved to do in My house,Seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many,And the hallowed flesh is passed from thee?When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.16The Lord called thy nameA leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit;With the noise of a great tumultHe hath kindled fire upon it,And the branches of it are broken.
17For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have wrought for themselves in provoking Me by offering unto Baal.
18And the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it;Then Thou showedst me their doings.19But I was like a docile lamb that is led to the slaughter;And I knew not that they had devised devices against me:'Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof,And let us cut him off from the land of the living,That his name may be no more remembered.'20But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously,That triest the reins and the heart,Let me see Thy vengeance on them;For unto Thee have I revealed my cause.
21Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying: 'Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand'; 22therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts:
Behold, I will punish them;The young men shall die by the sword,Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;23And there shall be no remnant unto them;For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth,Even the year of their visitation. 12Right wouldest Thou be, O Lord,Were I to contend with Thee,Yet will I reason with Thee:Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?Wherefore are all they secure that deal very treacherously?2Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root;They grow, yea, they bring forth fruit;Thou art near in their mouth,And far from their reins.3But Thou, O Lord, knowest me,Thou seest me, and triest my heart toward Thee;Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,And prepare them for the day of slaughter. 4How long shall the land mourn,And the herbs of the whole field wither?For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds;Because they said: 'He seeth not our end.' 5'If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee,Then how canst thou contend with horses?And though in a land of peace thou art secure,Yet how wilt thou do in the thickets of the Jordan?6For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father,Even they have dealt treacherously with thee,Even they have cried aloud after thee;Believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.' 7I have forsaken My house,I have cast off My heritage;I have given the dearly beloved of My soulInto the hand of her enemies.8My heritage is become unto MeAs a lion in the forest;She hath uttered her voice against Me;Therefore have I hated her.9Is My heritage unto Me as a speckled bird of prey?Are the birds of prey against her round about?Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field,Bring them to devour.10Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard,They have trodden My portion under foot,They have made My pleasant portionA desolate wilderness.11They have made it a desolation,It mourneth unto Me, being desolate;The whole land is made desolate,Because no man layeth it to heart.12Upon all the high hills in the wilderness spoilers are come;For the sword of the Lord devourethFrom the one end of the land even to the other end of the land,No flesh hath peace.13They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns;They have put themselves to pain, they profit not;Be ye then ashamed of your increase,Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
14Thus saith the Lord: As for all Mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, behold, I will pluck them up from off their land, and will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people to swear by My name: 'As the Lord liveth, 'even as they taught My people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of My people. 17But if they will not hearken, then will I pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it, saith the Lord.
13Thus said the Lord unto me: 'Go, and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.' 2So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it upon my loins.
3And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying: 4'Take the girdle that thou hast gotten, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Perath, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.' 5So I went, and hid it in Perath, as the Lord commanded me. 6And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me: 'Arise, go to Perath, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.' 7Then I went to Perath, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
8Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying:
9Thus saith the Lord: After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem, 10even this evil people, that refuse to hear My words, that walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, that it be as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing. 11For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord, that they might be unto Me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory; but they would not hearken.
12Moreover thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: 'Every bottle is filled with wine'; and when they shall say unto thee: 'Do we not know that every bottle is filled with wine?' 13Then shalt thou say unto them: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them.
15Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud;For the Lord hath spoken.16Give glory to the Lord your God,Before it grow dark,And before your feet stumbleUpon the mountains of twilight,And, while ye look for light,He turn it into the shadow of death,And make it gross darkness.17But if ye will not hear it,My soul shall weep in secret for your pride;And mine eyes shall weep sore, and run down with tears,Because the Lord's flock is carried away captive. 18Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother:'Sit ye down low;For your headtires are come down,Even your beautiful crown.'19The cities of the South are shut up,And there is none to open them;Judah is carried away captive all of it;It is wholly carried away captive. 20Lift up your eyes, and beholdThem that come from the north;Where is the flock that was given thee,Thy beautiful flock?21What wilt thou say, when He shall set the friends over thee as head,Whom thou thyself hast trained against thee?Shall not pangs take hold of thee,As of a woman in travail?22And if thou say in thy heart:'Wherefore are these things befallen me?'—For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered,And thy heels suffer violence.23Can the Ethiopian change his skin,Or the leopard his spots?Then may ye also do good,That are accustomed to do evil.24Therefore will I scatter them, as the stubble that passeth awayBy the wind of the wilderness.25This is thy lot, the portion measured unto thee from Me,Saith the Lord;Because thou hast forgotten Me,And trusted in falsehood.26Therefore will I also uncover thy skirts upon thy face,And thy shame shall appear.27Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry,On the hills in the field have I seen thy detestable acts.Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt