1 I said: »Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not your responsibility to know justice?
2 »You hate good and love evil! You rip off their skin and their flesh from off their bones!
3 »You eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them! You break their bones, and chop them in pieces similar to the contents of a pot or a caldron.
4 »They will cry to Jehovah but he will not answer them. In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time because they have done evil things.«
5 Jehovah spoke concerning the prophets: »They make my people stray. They bite with their teeth and cry, »Peace,« but receive nothing in their mouths. They declare holy war on him.
6 »Therefore you will have night. You will have no vision! It will be dark to you. You will not perform divination. The sun will go down on the prophets and they will be in the dark.
7 »The visionaries will be shamed. The diviners confounded! They will all cover their mouths for there is no answer from God.«
8 Jehovahs Spirit fills me with power! I have judgment and mightiness to declare to Jacob, his evil behavior, to tell Israel about his sin!
9 Please hear this you heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel. You who abhor justice, and pervert honesty!
10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with immorality.
11 The leaders judge for a bribe, and the priests teach for wages! The prophets predict for money yet they rely on Jehovah when they say: »Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? No evil will come upon us.«
12 It is your fault that Zion will be plowed like a field. Jerusalem will become heaps of ruin, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.