Unjust Leaders Judged
1Then 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
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin c
and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 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.”
4 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
5 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.
6 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.
7 Then the seers will be ashamed m
and the diviners disappointed. n
They will all cover their mouths J,o
because there will be no answer from God. p
8 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
9 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.”
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins, y
and the temple’s mountain z
will be a high thicket. a