^{4 Ref} For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel: "Seek me, and you will live;

^{5 Ref} But don't seek Bethel, Nor enter into Gilgal, And don't pass to Beersheba: For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.

^{6 Ref} Seek Yahweh, and you will live; Lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.

^{7 Ref} You who turn justice to wormwood, And cast down righteousness to the earth:

^{8 Ref} Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, And turns the shadow of death into the morning, And makes the day dark with night; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,

^{9 Ref} Who brings sudden destruction on the strong, So that destruction comes on the fortress.

^{10 Ref} They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.

^{11 Ref} Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, And take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of hewn stone, But you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink their wine.

^{12 Ref} For I know how many your offenses, And how great are your sins-- You who afflict the just, Who take a bribe, And who turn aside the needy in the courts.

^{13 Ref} Therefore he who is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; For it is an evil time.

^{14 Ref} Seek good, and not evil, That you may live; And so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, As you say.

^{15 Ref} Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."