1 Woe to them that devise iniquity And work evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they execute it, Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and seize them; And houses, and take them away; Thus they oppress a man and his house, Even a man and his heritage.
3 Therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, From which ye shall not remove your necks, Neither shall ye walk upright; for it shall be an evil time.
4 In that day shall they take up a parable against you, And lament with a doleful lamentation, and say: ‘We are utterly ruined; He changeth the portion of my people; How doth he remove it from me! Instead of restoring our fields, he divideth them.’
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the line by lot In the congregation of the LORD.
6 ’Preach ye not’, they preach; ‘They shall not preach of these things, That they shall not take shame.’
7 Do I change, O house of Jacob? Is the spirit of the LORD straitened? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
8 But of late My people is risen up as an enemy; With the garment ye strip also the mantle From them that pass by securely, so that they are as men returning from war.
9 The women of My people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; From their young children ye take away My glory for ever.
10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; Because of the uncleanness thereof, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
11 If a man walking in wind and falsehood do lie: ‘I will preach unto thee of wine and of strong drink’; He shall even be the preacher of this people.
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will render them all as sheep in a fold; As a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is gone up before them; They have broken forth and passed on, By the gate, and are gone out thereat; And their king is passed on before them, And the LORD at the head of them.