5aBut I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of aIsrael, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because bthey sell the righteous for silver, And the cpoor for a pair of sandals.
7 They1 pant after the dust of the earth whichis on the head of the poor, And apervert the way of the humble. bA man and his father go in to the same girl, cTo defile My holy name.
8 They lie down aby every altar on clothes btaken in pledge, And drink the wine of1 the condemned in the house of their god.
9 “Yet itwas I who destroyed the aAmorite before them, Whose height was like the bheight of the cedars, And he wasas strong as the oaks; Yet I cdestroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
10 Also itwasaI who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And bled you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as aprophets, And some of your young men as bNazirites. Isit not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the Lord.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets asaying, ‘Do not prophesy!’
13 “Behold,a I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves1 is weighed down.
14aTherefore1 flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, bNor shall the mighty1 deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not1 escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most1 courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the Lord.
The people - That make a prey even of the poor afflicted ones, who walk with dust on their heads. Turn aside - Maliciously interpret the actions, words, and designs of the humble and meek. Will go in - These corrupt judges commit also that lewdness which the Heathens abhor.
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
