Online Bible

Listen carefully, the Lord GOD of hosts ^ais removing from Jerusalem and from JudahBoth supply and support, the whole supply of breadAnd the whole supply of water;2 ^aThe brave man and the warrior He is also removing,The judge and the prophet,The diviner and the elder,3 The captain of fifty and the man of honor,The counselor and the expert artisan,And the skillful enchanter.4 And I will make mere ^aboys their princes,And capricious (impulsive, unpredictable) children will rule over them.5 And the people will be ^aoppressed,Each one by another, and each one by his ^bneighbor;The boy will be arrogant and insolent toward the elderAnd the vulgar (common) toward the honorable person of rank.6 When a man ^atakes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying,“You have a robe, you shall be our judge and ruler,And this pile of ruins will be under your control,”7 He will protest on that day, saying,“I will not be a ¹^agovernor;For in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;You should not make me a judge and ruler of the people.”8 For ^aJerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,Because their ^bwords and their actions are against the LORD,To ^crebel against His glorious presence and defiantly provoke Him.9 Their partiality testifies against them,They display their sin like ^aSodom;They do not even hide it.Woe (judgment is coming) to ¹them!For they have ^bbrought evil on themselves as a reward.10 Say to the ^arighteous that it will go well with them,For they will eat the fruit of their righteous actions.11 Woe (judgment is coming) to the wicked! It shall go badly with him,For ^awhat his hand has done shall be done to him.12 O My people! ^aChildren are their oppressors,And women rule over them.O My people! Your ^bleaders lead you astrayAnd confuse (destroy, swallow up) the direction of your paths.

13 ^aThe LORD rises to contend,And stands to judge the people.14 The LORD ^aenters into judgment with the elders of His people and their princes,“For it is you who have ^bdevoured the vineyard with your oppression, you have robbed the people and ruined the country;The ^cplunder of the poor is in your houses.15 “What do you mean by ^acrushing My peopleAnd grinding the face of the poor?”Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

16 Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the ^adaughters of Zion are proudAnd walk with outstretched necks and seductive (flirtatious, alluring) eyes,And trip along with mincing steps and an affected gaitAnd walk with jingling ¹anklets on their feet,17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs making them bald,And the LORD will expose their foreheads (send them into captivity) .”

18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, braided caps, ^acrescent head ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, and the hanging veils and scarves, 20 ^ahead wraps (turbans) , short, jingling ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets (charms) , 21 signet finger rings, ^anose rings, 22 festival robes, outer tunics, shawls, handbags, 23 hand mirrors, fine linen undergarments, headbands, and veils covering the entire body.

24 Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet ^afragrance of spices there will be the stench of rottenness;Instead of a belt, a rope;Instead of ^bwell-set hair, ^cbaldness;Instead of fine clothes, a ^drobe of sackcloth;And branding of captives by the scorching heat instead of beauty.25 Your men will ^afall by the swordAnd your mighty men in battle.26 And Jerusalem’s ^agates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn as those who wail for the dead;And she, being ruined and desolate, will ^bsit upon the ground.