² Then he said to me, Son of man, these are the men who are designing evil, who are teaching evil ways in this town:

¹ Ho! uncontrolled children, says the Lord, who give effect to a purpose which is not mine, and who make an agreement, but not by my spirit, increasing their sin:

¹ Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?

² The kings of the earth have taken their place, and the rulers are fixed in their purpose, against the Lord, and against the king of his selection, saying,

² Purposing destruction, using deceit; your tongue is like a sharp blade.

⁵ I will go to the great men and have talk with them; for they have knowledge of the way of the Lord and of the behaviour desired by their God. But as for these, their one purpose is a broken yoke and burst bands.

³ Then Esther again came before the king, falling down at his feet, and made request to him with weeping, that he would put a stop to the evil purposes of Haman the Agagite and the designs which he had made against the Jews.

⁴ He gives thought to evil on his bed; he takes a way which is not good; he is not a hater of evil.

⁴ No one puts forward an upright cause, or gives a true decision: their hope is in deceit, and their words are false; they are with child with sin, and give birth to evil.

¹⁸ Then they said, Come, let us make a design against Jeremiah; for teaching will never be cut off from the priest, or wisdom from the wise, or the word from the prophet. Come, let us make use of his words for an attack on him, and let us give attention with care to what he says.

¹ A curse on the designers of evil, working on their beds! in the morning light they do it, because it is in their power.

² They have a desire for fields and take them by force; and for houses and take them away: they are cruel to a man and his family, even to a man and his heritage.