1 S ee, the Lord, the Lord God of All, is going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah all they have to keep themselves alive and safe, all the bread and all the water.

¶ For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of the hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water,

2 H e will take away the strong man, the man of war, the man who judges, the man who tells what will happen in the future, the man who uses secret ways, and the leader.

the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, the fortune-teller and the ancient,

3 H e will take away the captain of fifty, the man of honor, the wise man, the able workman, and the one who uses secret powers.

the captain of fifty and the honourable man and the counsellor and the cunning artificer and the eloquent wise man.

4 I will make boys their rulers. Foolish children will rule over them.

And I will give children to be their princes, and young fools shall rule over them.

5 T he people will make it hard for each other. Each one will hurt the other, and each one will be hurt by his neighbor. The younger will show anger toward the older. And the man who is not respected will show anger toward the man of honor.

And the people shall do violence, one against another, and each one against his neighbour; the child shall rise up against the ancient and the base against the honourable.

6 A man will take hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a coat. You will be our ruler. This destroyed city will be under your rule.”

When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand;

7 I n that day he will call out, “I can not be of help to you. For in my house there is no bread or coat. You should not choose me to be ruler of the people.”

in that day he shall swear, saying, I will not be a healer for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: do not make me a ruler of the people.

8 F or Jerusalem has no strength, and Judah has fallen, because their speaking and their actions are against the Lord. They have turned against His shining-greatness.

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings have been against the LORD, to irritate the eyes of his majesty.

9 T he look on their faces speaks against them. They show their sin like Sodom. They do not even hide it. It is bad for them! For they have brought trouble upon themselves.

¶ The appearance of their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

10 T ell those who are right and good that it will go well for them. For they will enjoy the fruit of what they do.

Say unto the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat of the fruit of their doings.

11 I t will be bad for the sinful man! It will not go well for him, for what he has done will be done to him.

Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for according to the work of his hands it shall be done unto him.

12 O My people! Children make it hard for them. And women rule over them. O My people! Your leaders lead you in the wrong way. You do not know which path to take. The Lord Will Judge His People

The oppressors of my people are many, and women rule over him. O my people, those who lead thee cause thee to err and twist the way of thy paths.

13 T he Lord is ready to say what He thinks and stands to judge the people.

The LORD stands up to litigate and is present to judge the peoples.

14 T he Lord judges the leaders and rulers of His people: “It is you who have destroyed the grape-field. What had belonged to the poor is in your houses.

The LORD will come with judgment against the elders of his people and against these his princes, for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15 W hat do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the faces of the poor?” says the Lord God of All. Women of Jerusalem Will Suffer

What do you mean that ye beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of the hosts.

16 T he Lord said, “The daughters of Zion are proud. They walk with heads held high and a wrong desire in their eyes. They walk with short steps, making noise with the chains on their ankles.

¶ Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and swaggering as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 S o the Lord will make sores come upon the heads of the daughters of Zion, and take the hair from their head.

Therefore the Lord will make bare the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will uncover that which they are ashamed of.

18 I n that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their ankle chains, headbands, moon-like objects,

In that day the Lord will take away the adornment of their shoes and their hair nets and their crystals,

19 r ings worn on their ears and arms, face-coverings,

the chains and the jewels and the bracelets,

20 h ead-dresses, leg-chains, wide belts, perfume boxes, objects with secret powers,

the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs and the headbands and the powders and the earrings,

21 f inger rings, nose rings,

the rings, and nose jewels,

22 b right clothing, coats, money-bags,

the changeable suits of apparel and the mantles and the veils and the crisping pins,

23 h and mirrors, underclothes, head-coverings, and face-coverings.

the looking glasses and the fine linen and the hoods and the hairdos.

24 I nstead of sweet perfume there will be a bad smell. Instead of a belt there will be a rope. Instead of well set hair there will be no hair. Instead of fine clothes they will wear cloth made from hair. And there will be burnt marks instead of beauty.

And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet perfumes, there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent and instead of well-set hair baldness and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty.

25 Y our men will fall by the sword. Your strong ones will fall in battle.

Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.

26 J erusalem’s gates will be filled with sorrow. She will sit on the ground, laid waste and empty.

Thy gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.