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God Will Remove the Leaders

¹ For behold, the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts ^(C1)is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both ^(F2)supply and support, the whole ^(F2)supply of bread
And the whole ^(F2)supply of water;

^2 (C1)The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,

³ The captain of fifty and the honorable man,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.

⁴ And I will make mere ^(C1)lads their princes,
And ^(F1)capricious children will rule over them,

⁵ And the people will be ^(C1)oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his ^(C2)neighbor;
The youth will storm against the elder
And the inferior against the honorable.

⁶ When a man ^(C1)lays hold of his brother in his father's house, saying,
"You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler,
And these ruins will be under your ^(F1)charge,"

⁷ He will ^(F1)protest on that day, saying,
"I will not be your ^(F2)(C1)healer,
For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
You should not appoint me ruler of the people."

⁸ For ^(C1)Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
Because their ^(F1)(C2)speech and their actions are against the LORD,
To ^(C3)rebel against ^(F2)His glorious presence.

^9 (F1)The expression of their faces bears witness against them,
And they display their sin like ^(C1)Sodom;
They do not even conceal it.
Woe to ^(F2)them!
For they have ^(C2)brought evil on themselves.

¹⁰ Say to the ^(C1)righteous that it will go well with them,
For they will eat the fruit of their actions.

¹¹ Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,
For ^(F1)(C1)what he deserves will be done to him.

¹² O My people! Their oppressors ^(F1)are ^(C1)children,
And women rule over them.
O My people! ^(C2)Those who guide you lead you astray
And confuse the direction of your paths.

God Will Judge

^13 (C1)The LORD arises to contend,
And stands to judge the people.

¹⁴ The LORD ^(C1)enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people,
"It is you who have ^(C2)devoured the vineyard;
The ^(C3)plunder of the poor is in your houses.

¹⁵ "What do you mean by ^(C1)crushing My people
And grinding the face of the poor?"
Declares the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts.

Judah's Women Denounced

¹⁶ Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the ^(C1)daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with ^(F1)heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the LORD will make their foreheads bare."

²⁴ Now it will come about that instead of ^(F1)sweet ^(C1)perfume there will be putrefaction;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of ^(C2)well-set hair, a ^(C3)plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a ^(C4)donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.

²⁵ Your men will ^(C1)fall by the sword
And your ^(F1)mighty ones in battle.

²⁶ And her ^(F1)(C1)gates will lament and mourn,
And deserted she will ^(C2)sit on the ground.