The Lord says this to the family ¹  of Israel: “Seek me ²  so you can live!

The Israelites ¹  hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; ²  they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ¹  but you establish a reign of violence. ² 

They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ¹  and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²  Yet they are not concerned over ³  the ruin ⁴  of Joseph.

Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, ¹  and the religious banquets ²  where they sprawl on couches ³  will end.

Listen to this, you who trample ¹  the needy, and do away with ²  the destitute in the land.

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹  who live on Mount Samaria! You ²  oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your ³  husbands, “Bring us more to drink!” ⁴ 

Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out ¹  like fire against Joseph’s ²  family; ³  the fire ⁴  will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. ⁵ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ¹  He touches the earth and it dissolves; ²  all who live on it mourn. The whole earth ³  rises like the River Nile, ⁴  and then grows calm ⁵  like the Nile in Egypt. ⁶ 

So I will set Teman ¹  on fire; fire ²  will consume Bozrah’s ³  fortresses.”

So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” ¹ 

I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹  and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ²  and cause every head to be shaved bald. ³  I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ⁴  when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ⁵ 

I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.

He showed me this: I saw ¹  the sovereign One ²  standing by a tin ³  wall holding tin in his hand.

I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the ¹  land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

So I will set fire to Rabbah’s ¹  city wall; ²  fire ³  will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; ⁴  a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. ⁵ 

For here he is! He ¹  formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals ²  his plans ³  to men. He turns the dawn into darkness ⁴  and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, ⁵  is his name!”

Be certain of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation! ³ 

He builds the upper rooms of his palace ¹  in heaven and sets its foundation supports ²  on the earth. ³  He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name.

So I will set Hazael’s house ¹  on fire; fire ²  will consume Ben Hadad’s ³  fortresses.