<p class="poetry">&#8220;I will turn Samaria<n id="1" /> into a heap of ruins in an open field &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">vineyards will be planted there!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I will tumble<n id="3" /> the rubble of her stone walls<n id="4" /> down into the valley,p> <p class="poetry">and tear down her fortifications to their foundations.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">For this reason I<n id="1" /> will mourn and wail;p> <p class="poetry">I will walk around barefoot<n id="2" /> and without my outer garments.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I will howl<n id="4" /> like a wild dog,<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">and screech<n id="6" /> like an owl.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="poetry">Jerusalem, why are you<n id="1" /> now shouting so loudly?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Has your king disappeared?<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Has your wise leader<n id="4" /> been destroyed?p> <p class="poetry">Is this why<n id="5" /> pain grips<n id="6" /> you as if you were a woman in labor?p>

<p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t spread the news in Gath!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t shed even a single tear!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">They will lick the dust like a snake,p> <p class="poetry">like serpents crawling on the ground.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They will come trembling from their strongholdsp> <p class="poetry">to the <sc>Lordsc> our God;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they will be terrified<n id="3" /> of you.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Faithful men have disappeared<n id="1" /> from the land;p> <p class="poetry">there are no godly men left.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">they hunt their own brother with a net.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry"><v id="(5:1)" /> As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">seemingly insignificant<n id="2" /> among the clans of Judah &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">one whose origins<n id="4" /> are in the distant past.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">But I<n id="1" /> am full of the courage that the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s Spirit gives,p> <p class="poetry">and have a strong commitment to justice.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,p> <p class="poetry">and Israel with its sin.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Does the family<n id="1" /> of Jacob say,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;The <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s patience<n id="3" /> can&#8217;t be exhausted &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">he would never do such things&#8217;?<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">To be sure, my commands bring a rewardp> <p class="poetry">for those who obey them,<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">Will the <sc>Lordsc> accept a thousand rams,p> <p class="poetry">or ten thousand streams of olive oil?p> <p class="poetry">Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,p> <p class="poetry">my offspring &#8211; my own flesh and blood &#8211; for my sin?<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">They will rule<n id="1" /> the land of Assyria with the sword,p> <p class="poetry">the land of Nimrod<n id="2" /> with a drawn sword.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Our king<n id="4" /> will rescue us from the Assyriansp> <p class="poetry">should they attempt to invade our landp> <p class="poetry">and try to set foot in our territory.p>

<p class="poetry">They confiscate the fields they desire,p> <p class="poetry">and seize the houses they want.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They defraud people of their homes,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and deprive people of the land they have inherited.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">With what should I<n id="1" /> enter the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s presence?p> <p class="poetry">With what<n id="2" /> should I bow before the sovereign God?<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,p> <p class="poetry">with year-old calves?p>

<p class="poetry">Her<n id="1" /> leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">her priests proclaim rulings for profit,p> <p class="poetry">and her prophets read omens for pay.p> <p class="poetry">Yet they claim to trust<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> and say,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> is among us.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Disaster will not overtake<n id="5" /> us!&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="poetry">My enemies,<n id="1" /> do not gloat<n id="2" /> over me!p> <p class="poetry">Though I have fallen, I will get up.p> <p class="poetry">Though I sit in darkness, the <sc>Lordsc> will be my light.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">In that day people will sing this taunt song to you &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">they will mock you with this lament:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;We are completely destroyed;p> <p class="poetry">they sell off<n id="2" /> the property of my people.p> <p class="poetry">How they remove it from me!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">They assign our fields to the conqueror.&#8217;<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">But you are the ones who will be forced to leave!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For this land is not secure!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Sin will thoroughly destroy it!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">They are determined to be experts at doing evil;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">government officials and judges take bribes,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">prominent men make demands,p> <p class="poetry">and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">There is no other God like you!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">You<n id="2" /> forgive sinp> <p class="poetry">and pardon<n id="3" /> the rebellionp> <p class="poetry">of those who remain among your people.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">You do not remain angry forever,<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">but delight in showing loyal love.p>

<p class="poetry">Therefore no one will assign you land in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s community.<n id="1" />p>