Online Bible

An Evil Time

Woe to those who ^adevise wickedness,Who work out evil on their beds!^bWhen the light of the morning comes, they do it,For it is in the ^cpower of their hands.2 And they ^acovet fields and then ^btear them away,And houses, and take them away.And they ^coppress a man and his house,A man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore thus says Yahweh,“Behold, I am ^adevising against this ^bfamily an evil demiseFrom which you ^ccannot remove your necks;And you will not walk ^dhaughtily,For it will be an ^eevil time.

4 “On that day they will ^atake up against you a ¹tauntAnd ²^butter a bitter wailing and say,‘We are completely ^cdevastated!He exchanges the portion of my people;How He removes it from me!To the faithless one, He ^dapportions our fields.’5 “Therefore you will have no one ¹^astretching a measuring lineFor you by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.

6 ‘^aDo not speak, dripping out words,’ they say while dripping out words.But if ¹they do ^bnot drip out words concerning these things,^cDishonor will not be turned back.7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob:‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh ^aimpatient?Are these His deeds?’Do not My words ^bdo goodTo the one ^cwalking uprightly?8 “¹And recently My people have arisen as an ^aenemy—You ^bstrip the ²robe off the garmentFrom ^cunsuspecting passers-by,From those returned from war.9 “The women of My people you ^adrive out,Each one from her pleasant house.From her infants you take My ^bsplendor forever.10 “Arise and go,For this is no place ^aof restBecause of the ^buncleanness that wreaks destruction,A painful destruction.11 “If a man walking after wind and ^alyingHad acted falsely and said,‘I will speak, dripping out words to you concerning ^bwine and liquor,’He would be one who drips out words as a spokesman to ^cthis people.

12 “I will surely ^aassemble all of you, Jacob;I will surely gather the ^bremnant of Israel.I will put them together like sheep in the fold;Like a flock in the midst of its pastureThey will be noisy with men.13 “The breaker goes up before them;They break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it.So their king goes on before them,And Yahweh at their head.”

Woe to Oppressors

Woe to those who ^adevise wrongdoing,Who practice evil on their beds!¹^bWhen morning comes, they do it,Because it is in the ^cpower of their hands.2 They ^acovet fields, so they ^bseize them;And houses, so they take them.They ¹^cexploit a man and his house,A person and his inheritance.

3 Therefore this is what the LORD says:“Behold, I am ^aplanning against this ^bfamily a catastropheFrom which you ^ccannot remove your necks;And you will not walk ^dhaughtily,For it will be an ^eevil time.

4 “On that day they will ^atake up against you a ¹song of mockingAnd ²^butter a song of mourning and say,‘We are completely ^cdestroyed!He exchanges the share of my people;How He removes it from me!To the apostate He ^dapportions our fields.’5 “Therefore you will have no one ¹^aapplying a measuring lineFor you by lot in the assembly of the LORD.

6 ‘^aDo not prophesy,’ so they prophesy.But if ¹they do ^bnot prophesy about these things,^cInsults will not be turned back.7 “Is it being said, house of Jacob:‘Is the Spirit of the LORD ^aimpatient?Are these His works?’Do My words not ^bdo goodFor the one ^cwalking rightly?8 “¹Recently My people have arisen as an ^aenemy—You ^bstrip the robe off the garmentFrom ^cunsuspecting passers-by,From those returned from war.9 “You ^aevict the women of My people,Each one from her pleasant house.From her children you take My ^bsplendor forever.10 “Arise and go,For this is no place ^aof restBecause of the ^buncleanness that brings on destruction,A painful destruction.11 “If someone walking after wind and ^afalsehoodHad lied and said,‘I will prophesy to you about ^bwine and liquor,’He would become a prophet to ^cthis people.

12 “I will certainly ^aassemble all of you, Jacob,I will certainly gather the ^bremnant of Israel.I will put them together like sheep in the fold;Like a flock in the midst of its pastureThey will be noisy with people.13 “The one who breaks through goes up before them;They break through, pass through the gate, and go out by it.So their king passes on before them,And the LORD at their head.”

Woe to Oppressors

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who ^adevise wickednessAnd plot evil on their beds!^bWhen morning comes, they practice evilBecause it is in the ^cpower of their hands.2 They ^acovet fields and ^bseize them,And houses, and take them away.They ^coppress and rob a man and his house,A man and his inheritance. Is 5:8; Ex 20:17; Lev 25:23ff.

3 Therefore, thus says the LORD,“Behold, I am ^aplanning against this ^bfamily a disaster (exile)Like a noose from which you ^ccannot remove your necks;Nor will you be able to walk ^dhaughtily and erect,For it will be an ^eevil time of subjugation to the invaders.

4 “On that day they shall ^atake up a taunting, deriding parable against youAnd ^bwail with a doleful and bitter song of mourning and say,‘We are completely ^cdestroyed!God exchanges the inheritance of my people;How He removes it from me!He ^ddivides our fields to the rebellious our captors.’5 “Therefore, you will have no one ^astretching a measuring line dividing the common landFor you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. Rev 21:27

6 ‘^aDo not speak out,’ so they speak out.But if they do ^bnot speak out concerning these things,^cReproaches will not be turned back.7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob:‘Is the Spirit of the LORD ^aimpatient?Or are these prophesied judgments His doings?’Do not My words ^bdo goodTo the one ^cwalking uprightly?8 “But lately My people have stood up as an ^aenemy and have made Me their antagonist.You ^bstrip the ornaments off the garmentOf those ^cunsuspecting passers-by,Like those returned from war.9 “You ^aevict the women (widows) of My people,Each one from her pleasant house;From her young, fatherless children you take away My ^bsplendor and blessing forever by putting them among the pagans, away from Me.10 “Arise and depart because the captivity is inevitable,For this land is not the place ^aof restBecause of the ^bdefilement that brings destruction,A painful and terrible destruction.11 “If a man walking in a ^afalse spirit spouting deceptionShould lie and say,‘I will prophesy to you O Israel of ^bwine and liquor (greed, sensual pleasure) ,’He would be the acceptable spokesman of ^cthis people. Jer 5:31

12 “I shall most certainly ^aassemble all of you, O Jacob;I shall surely gather the ^bremnant of Israel.I shall bring them together like sheep in the fold multiplying the nation;Like a flock in the midst of its pasture.The place will swarm with many people and hum loudly with noise.13 “The ¹breaker the Messiah, who opens the way shall go up before them liberating them.They will break out, pass through the gate and go out;So their King goes on before them,The LORD at their head.” Ex 23:20, 21; 33:14; Is 63:8, 9; Hos 3:5; Amos 9:11