For YAHWEH says this to the people of Israel:
“Come, seek me, and you will live.
But don’t go down to seek me at Beersheba.
Don’t try to find me at Bethel’s shrines
or at the altars at Gilgal.
For Gilgal will be taken into exile,
and Bethel will be brought to nothing.”
Come back to YAHWEH and live,
or he will sweep down like fire upon the people of Israel.
The fire will burn at Bethel
with no one there to put out the flames.
They turn justice into a bitter pill to swallow
and trample righteousness into the mud.
Creator of Constellations—Maker of the Pleiades and Orion,
you turn the deepest darkness into dawn
and daylight into the darkest night.
You draw up drops of water distilled from the sea
to drench the earth with pouring rain.
YAHWEH is your name.
You destroy the mighty with a blinding flash
and overwhelm their strongholds with certain destruction.
They hate the one who challenges injustice
and despise the one who declares the whole truth in court.
For I know how outrageous are your many sins
and how many crimes you have committed.
You persecute the righteous,
trample on the rights of the poor,
and seize their grain through extortion.
By taking bribes, you prevent them
from getting justice in the courts.
This is why you will not live
in the fine stone houses you build
or enjoy the fruits of your luxury.
You will not drink wine
from the lush vineyards you plant,
for your judgment is imminent.
Yes, the smartest thing for the prudent
is to remain silent in such an evil time as this.
Devote yourself to what is good, not evil,
so that you may live.
And YAHWEH, the God of Angel Armies,
will really be with you,
just as you claim he is.
Hate what is evil, love what is right,
and let justice prevail in the courts.
It may be that YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies,
will show mercy to the remnant of Israel.
Because of Israel’s sins,
Lord YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, says this:
“Wailing and sorrow everywhere!
In every street they will mourn the dead.
Those who work in the fields will be expected to mourn
along with the professional mourners.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst to punish you,”
declares YAHWEH.
Woe to you who long for the day of YAHWEH!
Why do you long for the day of YAHWEH?
Its arrival will mean darkness, not light.
You will be seized like someone who runs from a lion
and a bear charges at him.
Then he hides indoors and leans his hand against the wall
only to have a venomous snake bite him.
Will not the day of YAHWEH bring darkness, not light—
a day of gloom without a ray of light?
YAHWEH
“I hate your religious festivals;
I absolutely despise them!
Your pious gatherings make me sick!
Even though you offer me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
And though you bring me choice peace offerings of fattened animals,
I won’t even look at them.
Spare me the monotonous melodies of your ‘worship.’
I don’t want to hear your strumming guitars anymore.
It’s just noise to me.
However, I delight in
a land where justice flows like a river
and where true righteousness rolls like a steady flowing stream.
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