6
1 O ye Bnei Binyamin,
gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Yerushalayim,
and blow the shofar in Tekoa,
and kindle the fire signal on Beit-HaKerem;
for ra'ah (evil, disaster) appeareth out of the tzafon (north),
and shever gadol (great destruction).
2 Bat Tziyon, so beautiful and delicate,
I will destroy.
3 The ro'im (shepherds) with their flocks shall come unto her;
they shall pitch their ohalim against her all around;
they shall pasture each his portion.
4 Prepare ye milchamah against her;
arise, and let us go up to attack at noon.
Oy unto us! For the yom fadeth away,
for the shadows of erev are lengthening.
5 Arise, and let us attack ba'lailah,
and let us destroy her fortresses.
6 For thus hath Hashem Tzva'os said:
Cut ye down trees,
and throw up a solelah (siege ramp) against Yerushalayim;
this is the Ir that must be visited [for punishment];
oshek (oppression) is rampant within her.
7 As a well casteth afresh her waters,
so she* casteth afresh her rah (wickedness);
chamas and shod (destruction) is heard in her;
before Me tamid (continually)
is sickness and wounds.
8 Be thou warned, O Yerushalayim,
lest My nefesh depart from thee;
lest I make thee desolate, an eretz not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os:
They shall thoroughly glean
the She'erit Yisroel (the Remnant of Israel) as a gefen (vine);
turn back thine yad once again
like a grape gatherer over the vine tendrils.
10 To whom can I speak, and give warning,
that they may hear?
Hinei, their ear is arelah (uncircumcised),
and to pay heed is beyond them;
hinei, the Devar Hashem is unto them a reproach;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the chamat Hashem;
I am weary with holding in;
I will pour it out upon the olal in the street,
and upon the assembly of bocherim together;
for even the ish with the isha shall be caught,
the zaken, those weighed down with yamim (days).
12 And their batim (houses) shall be turned over unto others,
with their sadot and nashim together;
for I will stretch out My yad
upon the Yoshvei HaAretz (Inhabitants of the Land),
saith Hashem.
13 For from the katan of them even unto the gadol of them,
every one is given to greediness for unjust gain;
and from the navi even unto the kohen,
every one doeth sheker (deceit, falsehood).
14 They have provided superficial treatment for Ami,
saying: Shalom, shalom; v'ein shalom.
15 Were they ashamed
when they had committed to'evah (abomination)?
They were not at all ashamed,
neither could they blush;
therefore they shall fall among them that fall;
at the time that I visit them [in punishment]
they shall be brought down,
saith Hashem.
16 Thus saith Hashem:
Stand ye in the derakhim (crossroads), and look,
and ask for the netivot olam (old paths),
where is the derech hatov (good road, way), and walk therein,
and ye shall find margo'a (rest) for your nefashot.
But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 Also I set tzofim (watchmen) over you,
saying: Pay heed to the kol shofar (sound of the shofar).
But they said:
We will not pay heed.
18 Therefore hear, ye Goyim,
and know, O Edah (Congregation),
what will happen to them.
19 Hear, HaAretz (O Earth);
hinei, I will bring ra'ah (evil, disaster) upon HaAm Hazeh,
even the p'ri (fruit) of their machsh'vot (schemes),
because they have not paid heed unto My devarim,
nor to My torah, but rejected it.
20 To what purpose cometh there to Me frankincense from Sheva,†
and the sweet cane from a far country?
Your olot (burnt offerings) are not acceptable,
nor your zevakhim pleasing unto Me.
21 Therefore thus saith Hashem:
Hineni, I will lay michsholim (stumblingblocks) before HaAm HaZeh,
and the Avot and the Banim together
shall stumble upon them;
the shakhen (neighbor)
and his re'a (neighbor, friend) shall perish.
22 Thus saith Hashem:
Hinei, Am (an Army, a people) cometh from the eretz tzafon,
and a Goy Gadol is aroused from the ends of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold of keshet (bow) and kidon (spear);
they are cruel, and have no mercy;
their kol (voice) roareth like the yam;
and they ride upon susim,
set in array as ish for milchamah
against thee, O Bat Tziyon.
24 We have heard the fame thereof;
our hands hang limp;
tzarah (anguish) hath taken hold of us,
and pain, as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not forth into the sadeh,
nor walk by the derech;
for the cherev of the oyev (enemy)
and magur (fear, terror) is on every side.
26 O Bat Ami, gird thee with sackcloth,
and roll thyself in ashes;
make thee evel (mourning), as for a yachid (only son),
most bitter lamentation;
for the shoded (destroyer) shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a bachon (tester, assayer)
of Ami (My People);
that thou mayest know and test their derech (way, conduct).
28 They are all maximum rebels,
going about as rachil (talebearers, slanderers);
they are nechoshet and barzel;
they are all corrupt.
29 The bellows blow,
the oferet (lead) is consumed by the eish;
the smelterʼs refining is in vain;
for the ra'im are not drawn off.
30 Nimas kesef (reprobate silver, rejected silver) shall men call them,
because Hashem hath rejected them.
* 6:7 Jerusalem † 6:20 i.e., southwest Arabia