3RD CHAPTER

Israel’s Sinful Leaders—Rulers, Prophets, and Priests

1 Then I said: 

Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel. 

You should know justice. 

2  You hate good and love evil. 

You strip the skin off my people and the flesh off their bones. 

3  You eat my people’s flesh. 

You strip off their skin. 

You break their bones to pieces. 

You chop them up like meat for a pot, like stew meat for a kettle. 

4  Then you will cry to the Lord, 

but he will not answer you. 

He will hide his face from you at that time 

because you have done evil things. 

5 This is what the Lord says about the prophets who mislead my people: 

When they have something to eat, they say, “All is well!” 

But they declare a holy war against those who don’t feed them. 

6  That is why you will have nights without visions. 

You will have darkness without revelations. 

The sun will set on the prophets, 

and the day will turn dark for them. 

7  Seersa will be put to shame. 

Those who practice witchcraft will be disgraced. 

All of them will cover their faces, because God won’t answer them. 

8  But I am filled with the power of the Lord’s Spirit, 

with justice, and with strength. 

So I will tell ⸤the descendants of⸥ Jacob about their crimes 

and ⸤the nation of⸥ Israel about its sins. 

9  Listen to this, you leaders of the descendants of Jacob, 

you rulers of the nation of Israel. 

You despise justice and pervert everything that is right. 

10  You build Zion on bloodshed and Jerusalem on wickedness. 

11  Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. 

Your priests teach for a price. 

Your prophets tell the future for money. 

But they rely on the Lord when they say, 

“After all, the Lord is with us. 

Nothing bad will happen to us.” 

12  Because of you, 

Zion will be plowed like a field, 

Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, 

and the temple mountain will become a worship site 

covered with trees.