² “The ·young girl [virgin] Israel has fallen,
    and she will not rise up again.
She was ·left alone [abandoned; forsaken] in her own land,
    and there is no one to ·help [raise; lift] her up.”

“If a thousand soldiers leave a city,
    only a hundred will ·return [or remain];
if a hundred soldiers leave a city,
    only ten will ·return [or remain].”

“·Come to [Seek] me and live.
⁵     But do not ·look in [seek] Bethel [^Cironic, since Bethel means “house of God”; 4:4]
or go to Gilgal,
    and do not go down to Beersheba [^Cimportant centers of worship in Israel; 4:4].
The people of Gilgal will ·be taken away as captives [surely go into exile],
    and Bethel will become nothing.”
⁶ ·Come to [Seek] the Lord and live,
    or he will ·move [sweep through; ^Lrush] like fire against the ·descendants [^Lhouse] of Joseph.
The fire will ·burn [consume; devour] Bethel [4:4],
    and there will be no one to ·put it out [quench it].
⁷ You turn justice ·upside down [^Linto bitterness/or wormwood; ^Ca bitter plant; 6:12],
    and you throw on the ground ·what is right [rightousness; justice].

⁸ ·God is the one [^LHe] who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
    he changes darkness into the morning light,
    and the day into dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea
    to pour out on the ·earth [^Lsurface/face of the earth].
    The Lord is his name.
⁹ He ·destroys [brings ruin upon; flashes destruction on] the protected city;
    he ·ruins [destroys] the strong, walled city.

¹⁰ ·You [^LThey] hate those who ·speak in court against evil [^Lrebuke/reprove at the gate; ^Cwhere court was held],
    and ·you [^Lthey] ·can’t stand [despise; detest] those who tell the truth.
¹¹ You ·walk [trample; or levy a tax] on poor people,
    ·forcing them to give you [imposing a tax on their] grain.
You have built fancy houses of cut stone,
    but you will not live in them.
You have planted ·beautiful [pleasant] vineyards,
    but you will not drink the wine from them [Deut. 28:30].
¹² I know your many ·crimes [trangressions],
    your ·terrible [numerous; great] sins.
You ·hurt [oppress] ·people who do right [the righteous/innocent],
    you take ·money to do wrong [bribes],
    and you keep the poor from getting justice in ·court [^Lthe gate; v. 10].
¹³ In such times the wise person will keep quiet,
    because it is a ·bad [evil] time.

¹⁴ ·Try to do [Seek] good, not evil,
    so that you will live,
and the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] will be with you
    just as you ·say [claim] he is.
¹⁵ Hate evil and love good;
    ·be fair in the courts [^Lestablish justice in the gate; v. 10].
Maybe the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] will ·be kind to [have mercy on; be gracious to] the ·people of Joseph who are left alive [remnant of Joseph; ^Ca reference to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons), representing the northern kingdom].
¹⁶ This is what the Lord, the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], says:
“People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the streets;
    they will be saying, ‘Oh, no!’ in the public places.
They will call the farmers to ·come and weep [mourning]
    and ·will pay people [^Lthose who know lamentation; ^Cprofessional mourners paid to weep] to ·cry out loud [wail] for them.
¹⁷ People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the vineyards,
    because I will pass ·among you to punish you [^Lthrough your midst; ^Cas the angel of death passed through Egypt (Ex. 12:12)],” says the Lord.

²¹ The Lord says, “I ·hate and reject [despise] your ·feasts [religious festivals];
    I ·cannot stand [take no delight in] your ·religious meetings [sacred assemblies].
²² If you offer me burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and ·grain [^Lgift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1],
    I won’t accept them.
You bring your best ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] of fattened cattle,
    but I will ·ignore [have no regard for] them [Is. 1:11].
²³ Take ·the noise of your songs [or your noisy songs] away from me!
    I won’t listen to the music of your ·harps [stringed instruments].
²⁴ But let justice ·flow [roll] like a river,
    and let ·goodness [righteousness; justice] flow like a ·never-ending [ever-flowing] stream.

²⁵ “·People [^LHouse] of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
    while you traveled in the desert for forty years.
²⁶ You have ·carried with you [lifted up]
    ·your king, the god Sakkuth [or the shrine of your idol-king],
    ·and Kaiwan your idol [or the pedestal of your idols; ^Ceither names of Mesopotamian star gods, or general terms for idols],
    the star gods you have made for yourselves.
²⁷ So I will send you ·away as captives [into exile] beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is the God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts].