In that day people ¹  will come to you ²  from Assyria as far as ³  Egypt, from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ⁴  from the seacoasts ⁵  and the mountains. ⁶ 

but you rise up as an enemy against my people. ¹  You steal a robe from a friend, ²  from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ³ 

In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I delivered you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ¹ 

You wrongly evict widows ¹  among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children ²  of their prized inheritance. ³ 

I will uproot your images of Asherah ¹  from your midst, and destroy your idols. ² 

yet you ¹  hate what is good, ²  and love what is evil. ³  You flay my people’s skin ⁴  and rip the flesh from their bones. ⁵ 

“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will destroy ¹  your horses from your midst, and smash your chariots.

“As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt, I will show you ¹  miraculous deeds.” ² 

Listen, all you nations! ¹  Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ²  The sovereign Lord will testify ³  against you; the Lord will accuse you ⁴  from his majestic palace. ⁵ 

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.

(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 

I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst; you will no longer worship what your own hands made.

I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ¹  and those far off ²  into a mighty nation. The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from that day forward and forevermore.” ³ 

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.”

My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ¹  how Balaam son of Beor responded to him. Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal, so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ² 

Residents ¹  of Shaphir, ²  pass by in nakedness and humiliation! ³  The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. ⁴  Beth Ezel ⁵  mourns, ⁶  “He takes from you what he desires.” ⁷ 

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.

Faithful men have disappeared ¹  from the land; there are no godly men left. ²  They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ³  they hunt their own brother with a net. ⁴ 

You will plant crops, but will not harvest them; you will squeeze oil from the olives, ¹  but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; ²  you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. ³ 

They will rule ¹  the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod ²  with a drawn sword. ³  Our king ⁴  will rescue us from the Assyrians should they attempt to invade our land and try to set foot in our territory.