Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
1
For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
a Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
b The stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
2
c The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
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The captain of fifty and the honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.
4
"I will give d children to be their princes,
And babes shall rule over them.
5
The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the elder,
And the base toward the honorable."
6
When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
"You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your power,"
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In that day he will protest, saying,
"I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people."
8
For e Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the LORD,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9
The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as f Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10
"Say to the righteous g that it shall be well with them,
h For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
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Woe to the wicked! i It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be given him.
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As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! j Those who lead you cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths."
13
The LORD stands up k to plead,
And stands to judge the people.
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The LORD will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
"For you have eaten up l the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15
What do you mean by m crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?"
Says the Lord GOD of hosts.
16
Moreover the LORD says:
"Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with outstretched necks
And wanton eyes,
Walking and mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
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Therefore the Lord will strike with n a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the LORD will o uncover their secret parts."
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In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the p crescents;
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The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
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The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21
and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22
the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
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and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
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And so it shall be:
Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, q baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
25
Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your mighty in the war.
26
r Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And she being desolate s shall sit on the ground.
1
And a in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
"We will b eat our own food and wear our own apparel;
Only let us be called by your name,
To take away c our reproach."
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Cross References
2 Kings 25:3
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
Isaiah 5:13
Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.
Jeremiah 37:21
Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
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Cross References
Leviticus 26:26
When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
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Cross References
2 Kings 24:14
Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
Isaiah 9:14
Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
Isaiah 9:15
The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
Ezekiel 17:12
Say now to the rebellious house: 'Do you not know what these things mean? ' Tell them, 'Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon.
Ezekiel 17:13
And he took the king's offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 10:16
Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning!
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 36:16
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:17
Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.
Micah 3:12
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.
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Cross References
Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
Isaiah 1:10 - 15
Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:1 - 14
Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD.
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Cross References
Psalms 128:2
When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
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Cross References
Psalms 11:6
Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.
Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.
Ecclesiastes 8:13
But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
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Cross References
Isaiah 9:16
For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.
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Cross References
Isaiah 66:16
For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many.
Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
Micah 6:2
Hear, O you mountains, the LORD's complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the LORD has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel.
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Cross References
Matthew 21:33
Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
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Cross References
Micah 3:2
You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones.
Micah 3:3
Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:27
The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 13:22
And if you say in your heart, "Why have these things come upon me?" For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare.
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Cross References
Judges 8:21
So Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength." So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
Judges 8:26
Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels' necks.
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Cross References
Isaiah 22:12
And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
Ezekiel 27:31
They will shave themselves completely bald because of you, Gird themselves with sackcloth, And weep for you With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 14:2
Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
Lamentations 1:4
The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness.
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Cross References
Lamentations 2:10
The elders of the daughter of Zion Sit on the ground and keep silence; They throw dust on their heads And gird themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Bow their heads to the ground.
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Cross References
Isaiah 2:11
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 2:17
The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
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Cross References
2 Thessalonians 3:12
Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
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Cross References
Luke 1:25
"Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.