3. For thus says the Lord God:“The city that goes out by a thousandShall have a hundred left,And that which goes out by a hundredShall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
4. For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:“Seek Me and live;
5. But do not seek Bethel,Nor enter Gilgal,Nor pass over to Beersheba;For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,And Bethel shall come to nothing.
6. Seek the Lord and live,Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,And devour it,With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7. You who turn justice to wormwood,And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8. He made the Pleiades and Orion;He turns the shadow of death into morningAnd makes the day dark as night;He calls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the face of the earth;The Lord is His name.
9. He rains ruin upon the strong,So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10. They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11. Therefore, because you tread down the poorAnd take grain taxes from him,Though you have built houses of hewn stone,Yet you shall not dwell in them;You have planted pleasant vineyards,But you shall not drink wine from them.
12. For I know your manifold transgressionsAnd your mighty sins:Afflicting the just and taking bribes;Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.