New Century Version NCV
New Living Translation NLT
1 Then I said, "Listen, leaders of the people of Jacob; listen, you rulers of the nation of Israel. You should know how to decide cases fairly,
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I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,
2 but you hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones.
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but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones.
3 You eat my people's flesh and skin them and break their bones; you chop them up like meat for the pot, like meat in a cooking pan.
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Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot.
4 They will cry to the Lord, but he won't answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them, because what they have done is evil."
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Then you beg the LORD for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!”
5 The Lord says this about the prophets who teach his people the wrong way of living: "If these prophets are given food to eat, they shout, 'Peace!' But if someone doesn't give them what they ask for, they call for a holy war against that person.
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This is what the LORD says: “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.
6 So it will become like night for them, without visions. It will become dark for them, without any way to tell the future. The sun is about to set for the prophets; their day will become dark.
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Now the night will close around you, cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you, putting an end to your predictions. The sun will set for you prophets, and your day will come to an end.
7 The seers will be ashamed; the people who see the future will be embarrassed. Yes, all of them will cover their mouths, because there will be no answer from God."
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Then you seers will be put to shame, and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced. And you will cover your faces because there is no answer from God.”
8 But I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and strength, to tell the people of Jacob how they have turned against God, and the people of Israel how they have sinned.
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But as for me, I am filled with power— with the Spirit of the LORD . I am filled with justice and strength to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion.
9 Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me, you who hate fairness and twist what is right.
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Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right.
10 You build Jerusalem by murdering people; you build it with evil.
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You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption.
11 Its judges take money to decide who wins in court. Its priests only teach for pay, and its prophets only look into the future when they get paid. But they lean on the Lord and say, "The Lord is here with us, so nothing bad will happen to us."
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You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the LORD . “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the LORD is here among us.”
12 Because of you, Jerusalem will be plowed like a field. The city will become a pile of rocks, and the hill on which the Temple stands will be covered with bushes.
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Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.