³ O Lord, are not ^(G)Your eyes on the truth?
You have ^(H)stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But ^(I)they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.

⁴ Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For ^(J)they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
⁵ I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For ^(K)they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”

But these have altogether ^(L)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
⁶ Therefore ^(M)a lion from the forest shall slay them,
^(N)A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
^(O)A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.

⁷ “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And ^(P)sworn by those ^(Q)that are not gods.
^(R)When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
^8 (S)They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
⁹ Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not ^(T)avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ “Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not ^[b]make a ^(U)complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
¹¹ For ^(V)the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord.

^12 (W)They have lied about the Lord,
And said, ^(X)“It is not He.
^(Y)Neither will ^[c]evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
¹³ And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”

“Because you speak this word,
^(Z)Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
¹⁵ Behold, I will bring a ^(AA)nation against you ^(AB)from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
¹⁶ Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
¹⁷ And they shall eat up your ^(AC)harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.

²⁰ “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹ ‘Hear this now, O ^(AH)foolish people,
Without ^[e]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
^22 (AI)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the ^(AJ)bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
²³ But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
²⁴ They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
^(AK)Who gives rain, both the ^(AL)former and the latter, in its season.
^(AM)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
^25 (AN)Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶ ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They ^(AO)lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
²⁷ As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
²⁸ They have grown ^(AP)fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they ^[f]surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead ^(AQ)the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
^(AR)Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
^29 (AS)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰ “An astonishing and ^(AT)horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy ^(AU)falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people ^(AV)love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?