For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.

The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

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Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

See now, the Lord,
    the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
    both supply and support:(A)
all supplies of food(B) and all supplies of water,(C)
    the hero and the warrior,(D)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner(E) and the elder,(F)
the captain of fifty(G) and the man of rank,(H)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman(I) and clever enchanter.(J)

“I will make mere youths their officials;
    children will rule over them.”(K)

People will oppress each other—
    man against man, neighbor against neighbor.(L)
The young will rise up against the old,
    the nobody against the honored.

A man will seize one of his brothers
    in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
    take charge of this heap of ruins!”
But in that day(M) he will cry out,
    “I have no remedy.(N)
I have no food(O) or clothing in my house;
    do not make me the leader of the people.”(P)

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This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.(A) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,(B) boastful, proud,(C) abusive,(D) disobedient to their parents,(E) ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,(F) rash, conceited,(G) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness(H) but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.(I)

They are the kind who worm their way(J) into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.(K)

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