An Evil Time
Woe to those who adevise wickedness,
Who work out evil on their beds!
bWhen the light of the morning comes, they do it,
For it is in the cpower of their hands.
2 And they acovet fields and then btear them away,
And houses, and take them away.
And they coppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, I am adevising against this bfamily an evil demise
From which you ccannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk dhaughtily,
For it will be an eevil time.
4 On that day they will atake up against you a taunt
And butter a bitter wailing and say,
‘We are completely cdevastated!
He exchanges the portion of my people;
How He removes it from me!
To the faithless one, He dapportions our fields.’
5 Therefore you will have no one astretching a measuring line
For you by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
6 ‘aDo not speak, dripping out words,’ they say while dripping out words.
But if they do bnot drip out words concerning these things,
cDishonor will not be turned back.
7 Is it being said, O house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh aimpatient?
Are these His deeds?’
Do not My words bdo good
To the one cwalking uprightly?
8 And recently My people have arisen as an aenemy—
You bstrip the robe off the garment
From cunsuspecting passers‑by,
From those returned from war.
9 The women of My people you adrive out,
Each one from her pleasant house.
From her infants you take My bsplendor forever.
10 Arise and go,
For this is no place aof rest
Because of the buncleanness that wreaks destruction,
A painful destruction.
11 If a man walking after wind and alying
Had acted falsely and said,
‘I will speak, dripping out words to you concerning bwine and liquor,’
He would be one who drips out words as a spokesman to cthis people.
12 “I will surely aassemble all of you, Jacob;
I will surely gather the bremnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with men.
13 The breaker goes up before them;
They break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it.
So their king goes on before them,
And Yahweh at their head.”