Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away {the punishment} thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Thy princes {are} rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. {sabaoth: Heb. hosts}

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in {his} wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger {from his right}, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. {oppress: or, defraud}

Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: {Gather...: or, Take not away} {bloody...: Heb. men of blood}

And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let {him} go.

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; {righteously: Heb. in righteousnesses} {uprightly: Heb. uprightnesses} {oppressions: or, deceits} {blood: Heb. bloods}

For the word of God {is} quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and {is} a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And {he that is} courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD. {courageous: Heb. strong of his heart}

That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge {asketh} for a reward; and the great {man}, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. {his...: Heb. the mischief of his soul}

For {so} it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, {Is} not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. {and say: Heb. saying}

If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and {that} they may rob the fatherless!

But these two {things} shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, {and} for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and {am} a witness, saith the LORD.

Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Rob not the poor, because he {is} poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

For I {know} their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

Ye have condemned {and} killed the just; {and} he doth not resist you.

Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

When I went out to the gate through the city, {when} I prepared my seat in the street!

To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. {against: Heb. before} {go...: Heb. do}

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the {same} maid, to profane my holy name: {maid: or, young woman}

And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. {the wise: Heb. the seeing}

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both {are} abomination to the LORD.

A gift {is as} a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. {a precious...: Heb. a stone of grace}

That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge {asketh} for a reward; and the great {man}, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. {his...: Heb. the mischief of his soul}

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. {wrong: or, wrested}

Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers {with} shame do love, Give ye. {sour: Heb. gone} {rulers: Heb. shields}

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, {and} Israel is defiled.

Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; {seat: or, habitation}

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for {he that is} higher than the highest regardeth; and {there be} higher than they. {at the... Heb. at the will, or, purpose}

His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither {is there} any to deliver {them}.

In whose hands {is} mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. {full...: Heb. filled with}

Wisdom {is} too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.

And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

For I {know} their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.