1 OID esta palabra, porque yo levanto endecha sobre vosotros, casa de Israel.

2 Cayó la virgen de Israel, no más podrá levantarse; dejada fué sobre su tierra, no hay quien la levante.

3 Porque así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: La ciudad que sacaba mil, quedará con ciento; y la que sacaba ciento, quedará con diez, en la casa de Israel.

4 Empero así dice Jehová á la casa de Israel: Buscadme, y viviréis;

5 Y no busquéis á Beth-el ni entreis en Gilgal, ni paséis á Beer-seba: porque Gilgal será llevada en cautiverio, y Beth-el será deshecha.

6 Buscad á Jehová, y vivid; no sea que hienda, como fuego, á la casa de José, y la consuma, sin haber en Beth-el quien lo apague.

7 Los que convierten en ajenjo el juicio, y dejan en tierra la justicia,

8 Miren al que hace el Arcturo y el Orión, y las tinieblas vuelve en mañana, y hace oscurecer el día en noche; el que llama á las aguas de la mar, y las derrama sobre la haz de la tierra: Jehová es su nombre:

9 Que da esfuerzo al despojador sobre el fuerte, y que el despojador venga contra la fortaleza.

10 Ellos aborrecieron en la puerta al reprensor, y al que hablaba lo recto abominaron.

11 Por tanto, pues que vejáis al pobre y recibís de él carga de trigo; edificasteis casas de sillares, mas no las habitaréis; plantasteis hermosas viñas, mas no beberéis el vino de ellas.

12 Porque sabido he vuestras muchas rebeliones, y vuestros grandes pecados: que afligen al justo, y reciben cohecho, y á los pobres en la puerta hacen perder su causa.

13 Por tanto, el prudente en tal tiempo calla, porque el tiempo es malo.

14 Buscad lo bueno, y no lo malo, para que viváis; porque así Jehová Dios de los ejércitos será con vosotros, como decís.

15 Aborreced el mal, y amad el bien, y poned juicio en la puerta: quizá Jehová, Dios de los ejércitos, tendrá piedad del remanente de José.

16 Por tanto, así ha dicho Jehová Dios de los ejércitos, el Señor: En todas las plazas habrá llanto, y en todas las calles dirán, ­Ay! ­ay! y al labrador llamarán á lloro, y á endecha á los que endechar supieren.

17 Y en todas las viñas habrá llanto; porque pasaré por medio de ti, dice Jehová.

18 Ay de los que desean el día de Jehová! ¿para qué queréis este día de Jehová? Será de tinieblas, y no luz:

19 Como el que huye de delante del león, y se topa con el oso; ó si entrare en casa y arrimare su mano á la pared, y le muerda la culebra.

20 ¿No será el día de Jehová tinieblas, y no luz; oscuridad, que no tiene resplandor?

21 Aborrecí, abominé vuestras solemnidades, y no me darán buen olor vuestras asambleas.

22 Y si me ofreciereis holocaustos y vuestros presentes, no los recibiré; ni miraré á los pacíficos de vuestros engordados.

23 Quita de mí la multitud de tus cantares, que no escucharé las salmodias de tus instrumentos.

24 Antes corra el juicio como las aguas, y la justicia como impetuoso arroyo.

25 ¿Habéisme ofrecido sacrificios y presentes en el desierto en cuarenta años, casa de Israel?

26 Mas llevabais el tabernáculo de vuestro Moloch y Chiún, ídolos vuestros, la estrella de vuestros dioses que os hicisteis.

27 Hareos pues trasportar más allá de Damasco, ha dicho Jehová, cuyo nombre es Dios de los ejércitos.

1 Give ear to this word, my song of sorrow over you, O children of Israel.

2 The virgin of Israel has been made low, never again to be lifted up: she is stretched out by herself on her land; there is no one to put her on her feet again.

3 For these are the words of the Lord God: The town which was able to send out a thousand, will have only a hundred; and that which sent out a hundred, will have only ten, in Israel.

4 For these are the words of the Lord to the children of Israel: Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have life:

5 Do not be looking for help to Beth-el, and do not go to Gilgal, or make your way to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal will certainly be taken prisoner, and Beth-el will come to nothing.

6 Go to the Lord for help so that you may have life; for fear that he may come like fire bursting out in the family of Joseph, causing destruction, and there will be no one to put it out in Beth-el.

7 You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;

8 Go for help to him who makes Orion and the Pleiades, by whom the deep dark is turned into morning, who makes the day black with night; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, sending them out over the face of the earth: the Lord is his name;

9 Who sends sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the walled town.

10 They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them.

11 So because the poor man is crushed under your feet, and you take taxes from him of grain: you have made for yourselves houses of cut stone, but you will not take your rest in them; the fair vine-gardens planted by your hands will not give you wine.

12 For I have seen how your evil-doing is increased and how strong are your sins, you troublers of the upright, who take rewards and do wrong to the cause of the poor in the public place.

13 So the wise will say nothing in that time; for it is an evil time.

14 Go after good and not evil, so that life may be yours: and so the Lord, the God of armies, will be with you, as you say.

15 Be haters of evil and lovers of good, and let right be done in the public place: it may be that the Lord, the God of armies, will have mercy on the rest of Joseph.

16 So these are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the Lord: There will be weeping in all the open spaces; and in all the streets they will say, Sorrow! sorrow! and they will get in the farmer to the weeping, and the makers of sad songs to give cries of grief.

17 In all the vine-gardens there will be cries of grief: for I will go through among you, says the Lord.

18 Sorrow to you who are looking for the day of the Lord! what is the day of the Lord to you? it is dark and not light.

19 As if a man, running away from a lion, came face to face with a bear; or went into the house and put his hand on the wall and got a bite from a snake.

20 Will not the day of the Lord be dark and not light? even very dark, with no light shining in it?

21 Your feasts are disgusting to me, I will have nothing to do with them; I will take no delight in your holy meetings.

22 Even if you give me your burned offerings and your meal offerings, I will not take pleasure in them: I will have nothing to do with the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; my ears are shut to the melody of your instruments.

24 But let the right go rolling on like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 Did you come to me with offerings of beasts and meal offerings in the waste land for forty years, O Israel?

26 Truly, you will take up Saccuth your king and Kaiwan your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.

27 And I will send you away as prisoners farther than Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of armies.