¹⁴ And Samuel saith, `And what `is' the noise of this flock in mine ears -- and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?'

² For he made `it' smooth to himself in his eyes, To find his iniquity to be hated.

¹⁶ And to the wicked hath God said: What to thee -- to recount My statutes? That thou liftest up My covenant on thy mouth?

¹⁷ Yea, thou hast hated instruction, And dost cast My words behind thee.

¹⁸ If thou hast seen a thief, Then thou art pleased with him, And with adulterers `is' thy portion.

¹⁹ Thy mouth thou hast sent forth with evil, And thy tongue joineth deceit together,

²⁰ Thou sittest, against thy brother thou speakest, Against a son of thy mother givest slander.

²¹ These thou didst, and I kept silent, Thou hast thought that I am like thee, I reprove thee, and set in array before thine eyes.

¹⁸ And now, what -- to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what -- to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?

¹⁹ Instruct thee doth thy wickedness, And thy backslidings reprove thee, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing `Is' thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, And My fear not being on thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

²² But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

²³ How sayest thou, `I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?' See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,

³⁴ Also in thy skirts hath been found the blood of innocent needy souls, Not by digging have I found them, but upon all these.

³⁵ And thou sayest, `Because I have been innocent, Surely turned back hath His anger from me?' Lo, I have been judged with thee, Because of thy saying, `I have not sinned.'

³⁶ What? thou art very vile to repeat thy way, Even of Egypt thou art ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Asshur,

³⁷ Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!

¹³ Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: `What have we spoken against Thee?'

¹⁴ Ye have said, `A vain thing to serve God! And what gain when we kept His charge? And when we have gone in black, Because of Jehovah of Hosts?

¹⁵ And now, we are declaring the proud happy, Yea, built up have been those doing wickedness, Yea they have tempted God, and escape.'

²² `And he saith to him, Out of thy mouth I will judge thee, evil servant: thou knewest that I am an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow!

¹⁹ And we have known that as many things as the law saith, to those in the law it doth speak, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may come under judgment to God;

⁵ so, then, nothing before the time judge ye, till the Lord may come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of the darkness, and will manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then the praise shall come to each from God.