Listen! The Lord is calling to the city— and to fear your name is wisdom—“ Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

耶和华向这城呼叫，智慧人必敬畏他的名：“你们当听是谁派定刑杖的惩罚。

耶和华向这城呼叫—看重你的名是真智慧—你们当听惩罚和派定惩罚的人。

耶和华向这城呼叫—看重你的名是真智慧—你们当听惩罚和派定惩罚的人。

耶和华在向耶路撒冷呼喊，智者必敬畏祂的名。祂说：“聚在城里的众人啊，你们要听！

听啊！耶和华向这城呼叫，敬畏你的名就是智慧；支派和城里的会众啊！你们要听。

耶和華向這城呼叫，智慧人必敬畏他的名。你們當聽是誰派定刑杖的懲罰。

耶和華向這城呼叫－看重你的名是真智慧－你們當聽懲罰和派定懲罰的人。

耶和華向這城呼叫－看重你的名是真智慧－你們當聽懲罰和派定懲罰的人。

耶和華在向耶路撒冷呼喊，智者必敬畏祂的名。祂說：「聚在城裡的眾人啊，你們要聽！

聽啊！耶和華向這城呼叫，敬畏你的名就是智慧；支派和城裡的會眾啊！你們要聽。

聽啊，永恆主向這城呼叫呢！敬畏他的名是最有效的智慧；這城的支派和議會啊，聽哦！

耶和華之聲、向斯邑而呼、智者必寅畏其名、其聽厥杖、而知為誰所定、

耶和華降命於邑中、撲責斯民、苟有智慧者、無不遵從焉、

主之聲呼邑、爾其聽之、凡有智慧者、必敬畏主之名、凡有智慧者必敬畏主之名或作凡敬畏主名者必為有福爾必受撲責、亦當知定之者誰、

The Lord is calling out to Jerusalem. And it would be wise to pay attention to him. He says,“ Listen, tribe of Judah and you people who are gathered in the city.

The voice of the Lord cries to the city— and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:“ Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!

Fear the Lord if you are wise! His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:“ The armies of destruction are coming; the Lord is sending them.

The voice of the LORD calls out to the city( and it is wise to fear your name):“ Pay attention to the rod and the one who ordained it.

The voice of the Lord will call to the city— And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:“ Hear, you tribe. Who has designated its time?

The LORD’s voice cries to the city— Wisdom shall see Your name:“ Hear the Rod! Who has appointed it?

The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

The voice of Yahweh calls out to the city( and it is wise to fear Your name):“ Pay attention to the rod and the One who ordained it.

The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and[ the man of] wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

Listen! The LORD is calling to the city! It is wise to respect your authority, O LORD! Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city!

Yahweh’s voice calls to the city, and wisdom sees your name:“ Listen to the rod, and he who appointed it.

She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.

See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire.

“ Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:“ Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.She said to them,“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,‘ This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord,‘ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people— that they would become a curse and be laid waste— and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’” So they took her answer back to the king.

Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’“ This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking,‘ The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not!Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down.”

Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the Lord repaying his enemies all they deserve.

The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.

If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not.’”Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord, and the guilt of our ancestors; we have indeed sinned against you.For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it.Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

and say to them,‘ This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth.The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth— all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

“ Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah,‘ This is what the Lord Almighty says:“‘ Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’

Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says:“ Give careful thought to your ways.You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”This is what the Lord Almighty says:“ Give careful thought to your ways.

Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,“ The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

“ I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.“ I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.“ Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.“ I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.“ I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.“ Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.”

The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— who can but prophesy?Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt:“ Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”“ They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,“ who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.”Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:“ An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”This is what the Lord says:“ As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.”“ Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.“ On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,” declares the Lord.

A voice says,“ Cry out.” And I said,“ What shall I cry?”“ All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.

Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say:“ We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.

The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,“ Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:“ By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?“ Even now,” declares the Lord,“ return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say,“ Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples,‘ Where is their God?’”Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people.

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me.

For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.“ But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.

then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth.’”

Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said,“ It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers— yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.

The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.

“ Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.”