Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
For behold, the aLord God of hosts
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,
all bsupport of bread,
and all support of water;
2 athe mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
4 aAnd I will make boys their princes,
and infants shall rule over them.
5 aAnd the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
6 For aa man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
7 in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a ahealer;
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their aspeech and their deeds are against the Lord,
bdefying his glorious presence.
9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin alike Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
bFor they have brought evil on themselves.
10 aTell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
bfor they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 aWoe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12 My people—ainfants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, byour guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
13 The Lord ahas taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the aelders and princes of his people:
“It is you who bhave devoured the vineyard,
cthe spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by acrushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of hosts.
16 The Lord said:
aBecause bthe daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
ctinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord awill strike with a scab
the heads of bthe daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away athe finery of the anklets, the bheadbands, and the ccrescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the aheaddresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and anose rings; 22 the afestal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24 Instead of aperfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a bbelt, a rope;
and instead of cwell‑set hair, dbaldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a eskirt of sackcloth;
and fbranding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
26 And aher gates shall lament and mourn;
empty, she shall bsit on the ground.