3 *And I said, aHear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob,

aAnd ye bprinces of the house of Israel;

cIs it not for you dto know judgment?

2  Who hate the good, and love the evil;

eWho pluck off their skin from off them,

And their flesh from off their bones;

3  eWho also feat the flesh of my people,

And flay their skin from off them;

And gthey break their bones,

And hchop them in pieces, as for the pot,

And ias flesh within kthe caldron.

4  lThen shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them:

mHe will even hide his face from them at that time,

As they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

5  Thus saith the Lord concerning nothe prophets that make my people err,

pThat bite with their teeth, and nqcry, Peace;

And rhe that putteth not into their mouths,

They even sprepare war against him.

6  Therefore tnight shall be unto you, u†that ye shall not have a vision;

And uit shall be dark unto you, t†that ye shall not vdivine;

And wthe sun shall go down over the prophets,

And wthe day shall be dark over them.

7  Then shall the seers xbe ashamed, and vxthe diviners xconfounded:

Yea, they shall all ycover their †lips;

For zthere is no answer of God.

8  But truly aI am full of power by the spirit of the Lord,

And of judgment, and of might,

bTo declare unto Jacob his transgression,

bAnd to Israel his sin.

9  cHear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob,

cAnd princes of the house of Israel,

That abhor judgment, and dpervert all equity.

10  eThey build up Zion fwith †blood,

And Jerusalem with iniquity.

11  gThe heads thereof judge for reward,

And hthe priests thereof teach for hire,

And hithe prophets thereof vdivine for money:

Yet will they klean upon the Lord, †and say,

lIs not the Lord among us?

mNone evil can come upon us.

12  Therefore nshall Zion nnfor your sake be plowed as a field,

noAnd Jerusalem shall become heaps,

nAnd pthe mountain of the house qas the high places of the forest.