Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he {is} the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

But I {was} like a lamb {or} an ox {that} is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, {saying}, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. {the tree...: Heb. the stalk with his bread}

Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, {which} they are not able {to perform}.

Who whet their tongue like a sword, {and} bend {their bows to shoot} their arrows, {even} bitter words:

Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

They have belied the LORD, and said, {It is} not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

Death and life {are} in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

My soul {is} among lions: {and} I lie {even among} them that are set on fire, {even} the sons of men, whose teeth {are} spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

The instruments also of the churl {are} evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. {the needy...: or, he speaketh against the poor in judgment}

And {one} told David, saying, Ahithophel {is} among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

The priests said not, Where {is} the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after {things that} do not profit.

And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite {is} better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. {appointed: Heb. commanded}

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:

Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man {is} worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. {This man...: Heb. The judgment of death is for this man}

Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that {are} at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

And {some} of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for {then} had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. {queen...: or, frame of heaven} {victuals: Heb. bread}

If any man see his brother sin a sin {which is} not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! {a matter: or, wood}

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. {from...: or, when the tongue scourgeth}

But I {was} like a lamb {or} an ox {that} is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, {saying}, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. {the tree...: Heb. the stalk with his bread}

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns {be} with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they {be} a rebellious house. {briers...: or, rebels}

For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, {say they}, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, {saying}, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. {All...: Heb. Every man of my peace}

Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips {are} our own: who {is} lord over us? {are...: Heb. are with us}

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for {I} will work a work in your days, {which} ye will not believe, though it be told {you}.

And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Therefore {was} he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and {that} they might have {matter} for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts {are} against me for evil.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

Come ye, {say they}, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, {and} much more abundant.

They {are} all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: {they are} brass and iron; they {are} all corrupters.

Thine habitation {is} in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. {imagination: or, stubbornness}

And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward {was} there, whose name {was} Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he {is} the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

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.

Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded {him} to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

The instruments also of the churl {are} evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. {the needy...: or, he speaketh against the poor in judgment}

Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay {me}: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal {thus} with them in the time of thine anger. {to slay...: Heb. for death}

And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.

{As for} the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; {Is} wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. {Devise...: or, Practise no evil}

And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. {against thee: of, of thee}

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he {was} faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people {are} as they that strive with the priest.

And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I {have been} a rebuker of them all. {though: or, and} {a rebuker: Heb. a correction}

They return, {but} not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this {shall be} their derision in the land of Egypt.

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

{How long} shall they utter {and} speak hard things? {and} all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same {is} Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in {his} words.

And the prophets shall become wind, and the word {is} not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge {him} vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

And they watched {him}, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, these {are} the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:

And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any {man}: for thou regardest not the person of men.