God’s Warning to His People

1“Woe to those who are crafting iniquity,

planning evil well into the night!a

When morning’s light comes,

they carry out their plansb because they have the power to do so.

2They covet fields and seize them;

they covetc houses, and grab them, too.

They harass the valiant man, along with his household,

an individual and his estate.

3“Therefore this is what the LORD says,

‘I’m crafting evil against this family,

from which you can’t escape.d

You won’t strut around arrogantly,

because the times are evil.’

4“When this happens,e someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully,

‘We are completely ruined!

He has given my people’s heritage to others.f

How he has removed it from me,

dividing up our fields!’

5“This is why there will not be left even a single person

to settle boundary disputesg in the LORD’s community.

6To those who speak out, they will declare,

‘Don’t prophesy to anyone!’

so their shame won’t go away.

7“It is said, house of Jacob,

‘The Spirit of the LORD is limited,

if he acts this way, is he not?’

“But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?

8Lately my people have acted like an enemy—

you strip travelers who thought they wereh as secure

as those who return from war.

9You have evicted the wives of my people from their dream homes;

you have removed my majesty from their children permanently.

10“Get up and go,

because there’s no rest for you here!

Since everythingi is polluted, it can only cause destruction,

even heavy destruction.

11Suppose a man who keeps company with a deceiving spirit prophesies like this:

‘Drink wine and strong drink!’

Won’t the people accept him as a prophet?”

The Coming Judgment

12“Jacob, how I will surely gather all of you!

How I will gather the survivors of Israel!

I will gather them together like sheep in a pen,j

like the flock in the midst of the sheepfold.

There will be a great commotion because of allk the people.

13God will stand up and break throughl in their presence.

Then they will pass through the gate, going out by it.

Their king will pass in front of them

with the LORD at their head.”