7
O
1you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8
He who made the
2Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and
3darkens the day into night, who
4calls for the waters of the sea
5and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
6the LORD is his name;
9
7who makes destruction flash forth against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10
8They hate him who reproves
9in the gate, and they
10abhor him who speaks the truth.
11
Therefore because you
11trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him,
12you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them;
13you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
12
For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins-- you who afflict the righteous, who
14take a bribe, and
15turn aside the needy
16in the gate.
13
Therefore he who is prudent will
17keep silent in such a time,
18for it is an evil time.
14
19Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD,
20the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
15
21Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice
22in the gate;
23it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16
Therefore thus says the LORD,
24the God of hosts, the Lord: "In all the squares
25there shall be wailing, and in all the streets they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmers to mourning and
26to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17
and in all vineyards there shall be wailing, for
27I will pass through your midst," says the LORD.