18. Oy to you—longing for the Day of Adonai! What would it be for you? The Day of Adonai will be darkness and not light.
19. It will be as when a man is fleeing from a lion—and meets a bear! Or he comes home, leans his hand on the wall, and a snake bites him!
20. Will not the Day of Adonai be darkness, not light? Gloom, not brightness?
21. “I hate, I despise your festivals! I take no delight in your sacred assemblies.
22. Even if you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I look at peace offerings of your fattened animals.
23. Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24. But let justice roll like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing torrent.
25. Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to Me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
26. But you lifted up your images —Siccuth your ‘king’, and Chiun, your star gods— which you made for yourselves,
27. So I will send you into exile, beyond Damascus.” Adonai has spoken, Elohei-Tzva’ot is His Name.