My child, ²  if you have made a pledge ³  for your neighbor, and ⁴  have become a guarantor ⁵  for a stranger, ⁶ 

when he gave the sea his decree that the waters should not pass over his command, ¹  when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

The Lover to His Beloved: ¹  I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, ²  to look for the blossoms of the valley, ³  to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹  those who also accumulate landed property ²  until there is no land left, ³  and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ⁴ 

He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹  he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people ¹  and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth.

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ¹  The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,” says the Lord who commands armies.

In the evening there is sudden terror; ¹  by morning they vanish. ²  This is the fate of those who try to plunder us, the destiny of those who try to loot us! ³ 

For this is what the sovereign master ¹  has told me: “Within exactly one year ²  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Yes, as your judgments unfold, ¹  O Lord, we wait for you. We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ² 

I will do this so ¹  people ²  will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the Lord’s power ³  has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ⁴ 

We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, ¹  but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹  for there is no justice.

Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. ¹  Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction. ² 

For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to ¹  the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. ² 

¹ The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel on their stone-hard ²  hearts. It is inscribed with a diamond ³  point on the horns of their altars. ⁴ 

For after we turned away from you we repented. After we came to our senses ¹  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ²  We are ashamed and humiliated because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ³ 

To this day your people ¹  have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded ²  you and your ancestors.’

Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame. ¹  Mourn and say, ‘Alas, its powerful influence has been broken! Its glory and power have been done away!’ ² 

For all of them will shave their heads in mourning. They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow. They will all make gashes in their hands. They will all put on sackcloth. ¹