¹² “Though wickedness is sweet in their mouth,
    though they hide it under their tongues,^(A)
13 though they are loath to let it go
    and hold it in their mouths,

¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.^(A)
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
    and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
    it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;^(B)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“See, I am laying^[a] in Zion a foundation stone,
    a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
    ‘One who trusts will not panic.’^(C)
17 And I will make justice the line
    and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.^(D)
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
    you will be beaten down by it.^(E)