⁹ And it hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.

² And it hath been -- as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maid-servant so her mistress, As the buyer so the seller, As the lender so the borrower, As the usurer so he who is lifting `it' on himself.

³¹ The prophets have prophesied falsely, And the priests bear rule by their means, And My people have loved `it' so, And what do they at its latter end?

¹⁴ let them alone, guides they are -- blind of blind; and if blind may guide blind, both into a ditch shall fall.'

⁶ Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?'

⁹ They have gone deep -- have done corruptly, As `in' the days of Gibeah, He doth remember their iniquity, He doth inspect their sins.

¹³ The sacrifices of Mine offerings! They sacrifice flesh, and they eat, Jehovah hath not accepted them, Now doth He remember their iniquity, And inspect their sin, They -- `to' Egypt they turn back.

⁴ and Jehovah saith unto him, `Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little, and I have charged the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and have caused to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel;

²⁶ Its priests have wronged My law, And they pollute My holy things, Between holy and common they have not made separation, And between the unclean and the clean they have not made known, And from my sabbaths they have hidden their eyes, And I am pierced in their midst.

²⁷ Its princes in its midst `are' as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.

²⁸ And its prophets have daubed for them with chalk, Seeing a vain thing, and divining for them a lie, Saying, `Thus said the Lord Jehovah:' And Jehovah hath not spoken.

²⁹ The people of the land have used oppression, And have taken plunder violently away, And humble and needy have oppressed, And the sojourner oppressed -- without judgment.

³⁰ And I seek of them a man making a fence, And standing in the breach before Me, In behalf of the land -- not to destroy it, And I have not found.

³¹ And I pour out on them mine indignation, By fire of My wrath I have consumed them, Their way on their own head I have put, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

¹¹ For both prophet and priest have been profane, Yea, in My house I found their wickedness, An affirmation of Jehovah.

¹² Therefore is their way to them as slippery places, Into thick darkness they are driven, And they have fallen in it, For I bring in against them evil, The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.

¹⁰ Therefore, I give their wives to others, Their fields to dispossessors, For from the least even unto the greatest, Every one is gaining dishonest gain, From prophet even unto priest, every one is dealing falsely.

¹¹ And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, Peace, peace! and there is no peace.

¹² They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, And blushing they have not known, Therefore, they do fall among falling ones, In the time of their inspection they stumble, said Jehovah.

¹⁴ And Jehovah cutteth off from Israel head and tail, Branch and reed -- the same day,

¹⁵ Elder, and accepted of face, he `is' the head, Prophet, teacher of falsehood, he `is' the tail.

¹⁶ And the eulogists of this people are causing to err, And its eulogised ones are consumed.

¹⁰ Say ye to the righteous, that `it is' good, Because the fruit of their doings they eat.

²² His own iniquities do capture the wicked, And with the ropes of his sin he is holden.

¹⁷ And he loveth reviling, and it meeteth him, And he hath not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him.

¹⁸ And he putteth on reviling as his robe, And it cometh in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones.