3 Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:“Will they fall and not rise?Will one turn away and not return?
5 Why has this people slidden back,Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?They hold fast to deceit,They refuse to return.
6 I listened and heard,But they do not speak aright.No man repented of his wickedness,Saying, ‘What have I done?’Everyone turned to his own course,As the horse rushes into the battle.
7 “Even the stork in the heavensKnows her appointed times;And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallowObserve the time of their coming.But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,And the law of the Lord is with us’?Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
9 The wise men are ashamed,They are dismayed and taken.Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;So what wisdom do they have?