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¹ For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;² the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the ancient;³ the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the skilful enchanter.⁴ And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.⁵ And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.⁶ When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:⁷ in that day shall he lift up his voice, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: ye shall not make me ruler of the people.⁸ For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

⁹ The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.¹⁰ Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.¹¹ Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.¹² As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.¹³ The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the peoples.¹⁴ The LORD will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses:¹⁵ what mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

¹⁶ Moreover the LORD said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:¹⁷ therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.¹⁸ In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents; ¹⁹ the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers; ²⁰ the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets; ²¹ the rings, and the nose jewels; ²² the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels; ²³ the hand mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils.²⁴ And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth: branding instead of beauty.²⁵ Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.²⁶ And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground.