Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? {How: or, What}

Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; {Is it} not for you to know judgment?

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. {secret...: Heb. digging}

Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard {it}.

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing {that which was} evil in the sight of the LORD. {from...: Heb. from mouth to mouth}

He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see {it}.

They have corrupted themselves, their spot {is} not {the spot} of his children: {they are} a perverse and crooked generation. {They have...: Heb. He hath corrupted to himself} {their...: or, that they are not his children, that is their blot}

For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt {yourselves}, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

For the sins of her prophets, {and} the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! {her...: or, gluttonous: Heb. craw}

But thine eyes and thine heart {are} not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do {it}. {violence: or, incursion}

And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions {are} with us; and {as for} our iniquities, we know them;

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be {any} that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

{There is} a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen {this}, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. {Is it...: or, Is there any thing lighter than to commit}

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid {his} face from you, that he will not hear. {have hid: or, have made him hide}

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {laden: Heb. of heaviness} {gone...: Heb. alienated, or, separated}

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

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}

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations. {judge: or, plead for} {bloody...: Heb. city of bloods?} {shew her: Heb. make her know}

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,

But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered {with fatness}; then he forsook God {which} made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

For mine eyes {are} upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen {this}, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. {Is it...: or, Is there any thing lighter than to commit}

And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? {How: or, What}

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}

For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I {am}, and none else beside me. {perverted...: or, caused thee to turn away}

Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

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.

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

And it shall come to pass at that time, {that} I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. {settled: Heb. curded, or, thickened}

For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see {it}.

The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth {his} face. {disguiseth...: Heb. setteth his face in secret}

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied {him}? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil {is} good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where {is} the God of judgment?

He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? {himself: Heb. his soul}

O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent {men} have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. {violent: Heb. terrible}

Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard {it}.

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts {are} thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction {are} in their paths. {destruction: Heb. breaking}

Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, {and} to serve other gods, whom they knew not, {neither} they, ye, nor your fathers.

For Israel {hath} not {been} forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to {do} evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest {judgment}: {speak: Heb. answer}