But I will keep watching for the Lord; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will hear my lament. ¹ 

Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ¹  shave your foreheads as bald ²  as an eagle, ³  for they are taken from you into exile.

As for you, watchtower for the flock, ¹  fortress of Daughter Zion ²  – your former dominion will be restored, ³  the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.

Will the Lord accept a thousand rams, or ten thousand streams of olive oil? Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion, my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? ¹ 

Indeed, the residents of Maroth ¹  hope for something good to happen, ²  though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ³ 

It will be a day for rebuilding your walls; in that day your boundary will be extended. ¹ 

Her ¹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²  her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust ³  the Lord and say, “The Lord is among us. ⁴  Disaster will not overtake ⁵  us!”

Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ¹  It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ²  You will no longer ³  walk proudly, for it will be a time of catastrophe.

For Samaria’s ¹  disease ²  is incurable. It has infected ³  Judah; it has spread to ⁴  the leadership ⁵  of my people and has even contaminated Jerusalem! ⁶ 

But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! ¹  For this land is not secure! ²  Sin will thoroughly destroy it! ³ 

Those survivors from ¹  Jacob will live ²  in the midst of many nations. ³  They will be like the dew the Lord sends, like the rain on the grass, that does not hope for men to come or wait around for humans to arrive. ⁴ 

The prophets ¹  will be ashamed; the omen readers will be humiliated. All of them will cover their mouths, ²  for they will receive no divine oracles.” ³ 

Residents of Lachish, ¹  hitch the horses to the chariots! You ²  influenced Daughter Zion ³  to sin, ⁴  for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ⁵  to you!

If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹  ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ²  he would be just the right preacher for these people! ³ 

Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel! ¹ 

For a son thinks his father is a fool, a daughter challenges ¹  her mother, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are his own servants. ² 

(5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ¹  seemingly insignificant ²  among the clans of Judah – from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ³  one whose origins ⁴  are in the distant past. ⁵ 

For this reason I ¹  will mourn and wail; I will walk around barefoot ²  and without my outer garments. ³  I will howl ⁴  like a wild dog, ⁵  and screech ⁶  like an owl. ⁷ 

Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ¹  but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”

I must endure ¹  the Lord’s anger, for I have sinned against him. But then ²  he will defend my cause, ³  and accomplish justice on my behalf. He will lead me out into the light; I will experience firsthand ⁴  his deliverance. ⁵