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Let me go to the rich[a]
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the law of their God.”
But they all alike had broken the yoke;
    they had burst the bonds.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.5 Or the great

20 For long ago you broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds,
    and you said, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you sprawled and prostituted yourself.(A)

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Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?(A) But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(B) Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

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26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
    and the rulers have gathered together
        against the Lord and against his Messiah.’[a](A)

27 “For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant[b] Jesus, whom you anointed,(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.26 Or his Christ
  2. 4.27 Or child

14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

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24 Jesus looked at him[a] and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.24 Other ancient authorities read saw that he had become sad

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(A) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”(B)

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For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.(A)

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The officials within it
    are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
    that leave nothing until the morning.(A)
Its prophets are reckless,
    faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred;
    they have done violence to the law.(B)
The Lord within it is righteous;
    he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgment,
    each dawn without fail,
    but the unjust knows no shame.(C)

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Their hands are skilled to do evil;
    the official and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the powerful dictate what they desire;
    thus they pervert justice.[a](A)
The best of them is like a brier,
    the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of their[b] sentinels, of their[c] punishment, has come;
    now their confusion is at hand.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 7.3 Cn: Heb they weave it
  2. 7.4 Heb your
  3. 7.4 Heb your

11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe;
    its priests teach for a price;
    its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
    “Surely the Lord is with us!
    No harm shall come upon us.”(A)

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Wicked Rulers and Prophets

And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
    and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice?—(A)
    you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people[a]
    and the flesh off their bones,(B)
who eat the flesh of my people,
    flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
    and chop them up like meat[b] in a kettle,
    like flesh in a caldron.(C)

Then they will cry to the Lord,
    but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time
    because they have acted wickedly.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.2 Heb from them
  2. 3.3 Gk: Heb as

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan
    who are on Mount Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
    who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!”(A)

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25 Its princes[a] within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.(A) 26 Its priests have done violence to my teaching and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.(B) 27 Its officials within it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.(C) 28 Its prophets have smeared whitewash on their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” when the Lord has not spoken.(D) 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy and have extorted from the alien without justice.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 22.25 Gk: Heb A conspiracy of its prophets

The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.(A) Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.(B) You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.(C)

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13 For from the least to the greatest of them,
    everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
    everyone deals falsely.(A)

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The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and his anointed, saying,(A)
“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast their cords from us.”

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