²³But you people! You are stubborn and rebellious; you have turned aside and left me. ²⁴You never thought to honour me, even though I send the autumn rains and the spring rains and give you the harvest season each year. ²⁵Instead, your sins have kept these good things from you.

²⁶“Evildoers live among my people; they lie in wait like those who spread nets to catch birds,^e but they have set their traps to catch people. ²⁷Just as a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich, ²⁸why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.

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Footnotes

eProbable text they … birds; Hebrew unclear.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

they have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say in their hearts,

‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

who gives the rain in its season,

the autumn rain and the spring rain,

and keeps for us

the weeks appointed for the harvest.’

Your iniquities have turned these away,

and your sins have kept good from you.

For wicked men are found among my people;

they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.

They set a trap;

they catch men.

Like a cage full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;

therefore they have become great and rich;

they have grown fat and sleek.

They know no bounds in deeds of evil;

they judge not with justice

the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,

and they do not defend the rights of the needy.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;

they have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say to themselves,

‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rains in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’

Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

your sins have deprived you of good.

“Among my people are the wicked

who lie in wait like men who snare birds

and like those who set traps to catch people.

Like cages full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;

they have become rich and powerful

and have grown fat and sleek.

Their evil deeds have no limit;

they do not seek justice.

They do not promote the case of the fatherless;

they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned aside and have gone away.

They have not said to themselves,

‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,

who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,

who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’

Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.

Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,

for wicked men live among my people.

They watch like hunters lying in wait.

They set a trap;

they catch men.

Like a cage full of birds,

so their houses are full of deceit.

Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.

They have become fat and sleek.

They have also excelled in evil matters.

They have not taken up cases,

such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,

and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

NLTNew Living Translation

But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned away and abandoned me.

They do not say from the heart,

‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God,

for he gives us rain each spring and fall,

assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’

Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings.

Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.

“Among my people are wicked men

who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.

They continually set traps

to catch people.

Like a cage filled with birds,

their homes are filled with evil plots.

And now they are great and rich.

They are fat and sleek,

and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.

They refuse to provide justice to orphans

and deny the rights of the poor.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But for this people is a stubborn and rebellious heart,

they have turned aside and have gone away.

And they do not say in their hearts,

‘Let us fear please Yahweh our God,

the one who gives the autumn rain and the spring rain in its season,

the set times of the harvest he keeps for us.’

Your iniquities have disturbed these,

and your sins have kept away the good from you.

For wicked people are found among my people,

they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers,

they set up a trap,

they catch humans.

Like a cage full of birds,

so their houses are full of fraud.

Therefore they have become great,

and they have become rich.

They have grown fat,

they have grown sleek,

also, their evil deeds have no limit.

They do not judge with justice,

the legal cause of the orphan,

or allow it to succeed,

and the legal case of the poor,

they do not defend.

KJV 1900King James Version

But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

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