Unjust Leaders Judged

Then I said, “Now listen,(A) leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?(B)
You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin(C)
and strip their flesh from their bones.
You eat the flesh(D) of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up(E)
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
Then they will cry out(F) to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time(G)
because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,(H)
who proclaim(I) peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
Therefore, it will be night(J) for you—
without visions;
it will grow dark for you—
without divination.(K)
The sun will set(L) on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
Then the seers will be ashamed(M)
and the diviners disappointed.(N)
They will all cover their mouths[a](O)
because there will be no answer from God.(P)

As for me, however, I am filled with power(Q)
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.(R)

Zion’s Destruction

Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,(S)
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice(T)
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed(U)
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,(V)
her priests teach for payment,(W)
and her prophets practice divination for silver.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord(X) among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,(Y)
and the temple’s mountain(Z)
will be a high thicket.(AA)

Footnotes

  1. 3:7 Lit mustache

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)

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
    who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
    when they have something to eat
but declare war against those
    who put nothing into their mouths.(E)
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
    and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
    and the day shall be black over them;(F)
the seers shall be disgraced
    and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
    for there is no answer from God.(G)
But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
    and to Israel his sin.(H)

Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
    and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
    and pervert all equity,(I)
10 who build Zion with blood
    and Jerusalem with wrong!(J)
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.”(K)
12 Therefore because of you
    Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
    and the mountain of the temple a wooded height.(L)

Footnotes

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