Their tongue {is as} an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: {one} speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. {in heart: Heb. in the midst of him} {his wait: or, wait for him}

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.

Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. {destruction: Heb. spoil}

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.

Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they {be} all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

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.

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts {is} the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. {his...: Heb. plant of his pleasures} {oppression: Heb. a scab}

Their throat {is} an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps {is} under their lips:

Her princes within her {are} roaring lions; her judges {are} evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. {power: Heb. arm}

{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.

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

Forasmuch therefore as your treading {is} upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. {pleasant...: Heb. vineyards of desire}

For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this {is} the city to be visited; she {is} wholly oppression in the midst of her. {cast...: or, pour out the engine of shot}

I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, {and} the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, {and} burst the bonds.

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?

When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, {and} the troop of robbers spoileth without. {wickedness: Heb. evils} {spoileth: Heb. strippeth}

For among my people are found wicked {men}: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. {they lay...: or, they pry as fowlers lie in wait}

Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because {there is} no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Woe to them {that are} at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, {which are} named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! {are at...: or, are secure} {chief: or, firstfruits}

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.

The good {man} is perished out of the earth: and {there is} none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. {good: or, godly, or, merciful}

For {there is} no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part {is} very wickedness; their throat {is} an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. {faithfulness: or, stedfastness} {their mouth: Heb. his mouth, that is, the mouth of any of them} {very...: Heb. wickednesses}

Go to now, {ye} rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon {you}.

And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, {and} weary themselves to commit iniquity. {deceive: or, mock}

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

These {are} the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: {execute...: Heb. judge truth, and the judgment of peace}

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

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}

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints. {saints: or, most holy}

And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.

Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works {are} works of iniquity, and the act of violence {is} in their hands.

Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them {shall remain}, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither {shall there be} wailing for them. {theirs: or, their tumultuous persons: Heb. tumult}