Seek the Lord and Live
1Hear this word that I ktake up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2“Fallen, no more to rise,
is lthe virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”
3For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel.”
4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
m“Seek me and live;
5but do not seek nBethel,
and do not enter into nGilgal
or cross over to oBeersheba;
for nGilgal shall surely go into exile,
and nBethel shall come to nothing.”
6mSeek the Lord and live,
plest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for nBethel,
7O qyou who turn justice to wormwood1
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8He who made the rPleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and sdarkens the day into night,
who tcalls for the waters of the sea
tand pours them out on the surface of the earth,
uthe Lord is his name;
9vwho makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10wThey hate him who reproves xin the gate,
and they yabhor him who speaks the truth.
11Therefore because you ztrample on2 the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
ayou have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
ayou have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who btake a bribe,
and cturn aside the needy xin the gate.
13Therefore he who is prudent will dkeep silent in such a time,
efor it is an evil time.
14fSeek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, gthe God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15hHate evil, and love good,
and establish justice xin the gate;
iit may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16Therefore thus says the Lord, gthe God of hosts, the Lord:
“In all the squares jthere shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and jto wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for kI will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
Let Justice Roll Down
18Woe to you who desire lthe day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
mIt is darkness, and not light,
19nas if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20mIs not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21o“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22pEven though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to qthe melody of your harps I will not listen.
24But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25r“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26sYou tshall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27uand I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is gthe God of hosts.
The Prophesied Kingdom — Part One
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:31 • ID: 2390The Prophesied Kingdom — Part Two
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:38 • ID: 2391Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.