1And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? 2Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; 3Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. 4Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
5¶ Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. 6Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.3.6 that…: vision: Heb. from a vision3.6 that…: divine: Heb. from divining 7Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.3.7 lips: Heb. upper lip
8¶ But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. 9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. 10They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.3.10 blood: Heb. bloods 11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.3.11 and say: Heb. saying 12Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
The Lord Warns Israel’s Leaders and Prophets
1Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob’s people!
Pay attention, you rulers of Israel!
You should want to judge others fairly.
2But you hate what is good.
And you love what is evil.
You are like someone
who tears the skin off my people.
You pull the meat off their bones.
3You eat my people’s bodies.
You strip off their skin.
You break their bones in pieces.
You chop them up like meat.
You put them in a cooking pot.”
4The time will come when Israel
will cry out to the Lord.
But he won’t answer them.
In fact, he’ll turn his face away from them.
They have done what is evil.
5The Lord says,
“The prophets are those
who lead my people astray.
If my people feed them,
the prophets promise them peace.
If my people do not feed them,
the prophets prepare to go to war against them.
6So night will come on the prophets.
But they will not have any visions.
Darkness will cover them.
But they will not be able
to figure out what is going to happen.
The sun will set on the prophets.
The day will become dark for them.
7Those who see visions will be put to shame.
Those who try to figure out what is going to happen
will be dishonored.
All of them will cover their faces.
I will not answer them.”
8The Spirit of the Lord
has filled me with power.
He helps me do what is fair.
He makes me brave.
Now I’m prepared to tell Jacob’s people
what they’ve done wrong.
I’m ready to tell Israel they’ve sinned.
9Listen to me, you leaders of Jacob’s people!
Pay attention, you rulers of Israel!
You hate to do what is fair.
You twist everything that is right.
10You build up Zion by spilling the blood of others.
You build Jerusalem by doing what is evil.
11Your judges take money from people
who want special favors.
Your priests teach only if they get paid for it.
Your prophets won’t tell fortunes
unless they receive money.
But you still look for the Lord’s help.
You say, “The Lord is with us.
No trouble will come on us.”
12So because of what you have done,
Zion will be plowed up like a field.
Jerusalem will be turned into a pile of trash.
The temple hill will be covered with bushes and weeds.
