“‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.(A)

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23 Your rulers are rebels,(A)
    partners with thieves;(B)
they all love bribes(C)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.(D)

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Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.

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Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;(A)
10 who build(B) Zion with bloodshed,(C)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.(D)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(E)
    her priests teach for a price,(F)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(G)
Yet they look(H) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(I)

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Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
    you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;(B)
who eat my people’s flesh,(C)
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;(D)
who chop(E) them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?(F)

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Human Plans and God’s Plans

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil(A) on their beds!(B)
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.

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We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.(A)

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32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked(A) me by all the evil(B) they have done—they, their kings and officials,(C) their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.

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So I will go to the leaders(A)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.(B)

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26 “As a thief is disgraced(A) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests(B) and their prophets.(C)
27 They say to wood,(D) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,(E) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(F) to me
    and not their faces;(G)
yet when they are in trouble,(H) they say,
    ‘Come and save(I) us!’

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34 Our kings,(A) our leaders, our priests and our ancestors(B) did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep.

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