“‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city.

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你中间所流的血，就拍掌叹息。

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你们中间所流的血，就击打手掌。

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你们中间所流的血，就击打手掌。

“‘我见你谋财害命，就击掌叹息。

“‘看哪！因你所得的不义之财，又因在你中间所流的血，我就拍掌。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你中間所流的血，就拍掌歎息。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你們中間所流的血，就擊打手掌。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你們中間所流的血，就擊打手掌。

「『我見你謀財害命，就擊掌歎息。

“‘看哪！因你所得的不義之財，又因在你中間所流的血，我就拍掌。

『所以你看，我因你所得的不義之財、又因你中間所有流人血的事，我就拍掌歎息。

因爾所得非義之利、及爾中所流之血、我則擊掌、

爾貪非義之利、草菅人命、我見之憤恨鼓掌。

爾行不義得財、殺人流血、我忿恨鼓掌、

“‘ I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.

“ Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.

“ But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.

“‘ Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

“ Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you.

“ Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.

Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

“ Now look, I clap My hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

“‘ See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed they have done among you.

“‘“ Behold, therefore I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been within you.

I too will clap my hands. I won’t be so angry anymore. I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

People must do what is right. They must be honest and tell the truth. They must not get rich by cheating others. Their hands must not receive money from those who want special favors. They must not let their ears listen to plans to commit murder. They must close their eyes to even thinking about doing what is evil.

The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich.

“ Son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands. Let the sword strike twice. Let it strike even three times. It is a sword to kill people. It is a sword to kill many people. It is closing in on them from every side.

The Lord says,“ The people of Israel have sinned again and again. So I will judge them. They sell into slavery those who have done no wrong. They trade needy people for a mere pair of sandals.They grind the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground. They refuse to be fair to those who are crushed. A father and his son have sex with the same girl. They treat my name as if it were not holy.They lie down beside every altar on clothes they have taken. They lie on those clothes until the owner pays back what is owed. In the house of their God they drink wine that was paid as fines.

“‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before.Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say,‘ We are safe.’ You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!” announces the Lord.

How terrible it will be for those who plan to harm others! How terrible for those who make evil plans before they even get out of bed! As soon as daylight comes, they carry out their plans. That’s because they have the power to do it.If they want fields or houses, they take them. They cheat people out of their homes. They rob them of their property.So the Lord says to them,“ I am planning to send trouble on you. You will not be able to save yourselves from it. You will not live so proudly anymore. It will be a time of trouble.

Listen to me, you who walk all over needy people. You crush those who are poor in the land.You say,“ When will the New Moon feast be over? Then we can sell our grain. When will the Sabbath day come to an end? Then people can buy our wheat.” But you measure out less than the right amount. You raise your prices. You cheat others by using dishonest scales.You buy poor people to make slaves out of them. You buy those who are in need for a mere pair of sandals. You even sell the worthless parts of your wheat.

None of you should sin against your brother or sister by doing that. You should not take advantage of your brother or sister. The Lord will punish everyone who commits these kinds of sins. We have already told you and warned you about this.

“ They do not know how to do what is right,” announces the Lord.“ They store up stolen goods in their forts.”

You sinful people, should I forget that you got your treasures by stealing them? You use dishonest measures to cheat others. I have placed a curse on that practice.Should I forgive anyone who uses dishonest scales? They use weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are.

Someone might get rich by taking interest or profit from poor people. But that person only piles up wealth for someone who will be kind to poor people.

Then Balak became very angry with Balaam. He slapped his hands together. He said to Balaam,“ I sent for you to put a curse on my enemies. But you have given them a blessing three times.

“ Jeremiah, some of my people are evil. They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds. They set traps for people.A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds. And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods. They have become rich and powerful.