“ Listen to me, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family! Here is my decision against you. You have been like a trap at Mizpah. You have been like a net spread out on Mount Tabor.

“众祭司啊，要听我的话！以色列家啊，要留心听！王家啊，要侧耳而听！审判要临到你们，因你们在米斯巴如网罗，在他泊山如铺张的网。

众祭司啊，要听这话！以色列家啊，要留心听！王室啊，要侧耳而听！审判将临到你们，因你们在米斯巴如罗网，在他泊山如张开的网。

众祭司啊，要听这话！以色列家啊，要留心听！王室啊，要侧耳而听！审判将临到你们，因你们在米斯巴如罗网，在他泊山如张开的网。

“祭司啊，要听！以色列家啊，要留心听！王室啊，要侧耳听！这是对你们的审判，因为你们像设在米斯巴的圈套，铺在他泊山的网罗。

祭司啊，你们要听这话！以色列家啊，你们要留心听！王的家啊，你们要侧耳而听！因为审判必临到你们，因你们曾是米斯巴地的捕鸟机，是他泊山上张开的网罗。

眾祭司啊，要聽我的話！以色列家啊，要留心聽！王家啊，要側耳而聽！審判要臨到你們，因你們在米斯巴如網羅，在他泊山如鋪張的網。

眾祭司啊，要聽這話！以色列家啊，要留心聽！王室啊，要側耳而聽！審判將臨到你們，因你們在米斯巴如羅網，在他泊山如張開的網。

眾祭司啊，要聽這話！以色列家啊，要留心聽！王室啊，要側耳而聽！審判將臨到你們，因你們在米斯巴如羅網，在他泊山如張開的網。

「祭司啊，要聽！以色列家啊，要留心聽！王室啊，要側耳聽！這是對你們的審判，因為你們像設在米斯巴的圈套，鋪在他泊山的網羅。

祭司啊，你們要聽這話！以色列家啊，你們要留心聽！王的家啊，你們要側耳而聽！因為審判必臨到你們，因你們曾是米斯巴地的捕鳥機，是他泊山上張開的網羅。

眾祭司啊，要聽這話哦！以色列家啊，要留心聽哦！王家啊，要側耳以聽！因為審判是關於你們的，因為你們成了在米斯巴的機檻，成了在他泊山鋪下的網。

祭司歟、爾其聽之、以色列家、爾其聆之、王室爾其傾耳、審鞫有關於爾、因爾為擭於米斯巴、為網於他泊、

祭司與以色列族、及王宗室、群聽我言、爾設坎阱於密士巴、張網羅於大泊山、故我必罰爾、

諸祭司歟、爾其聽此、以色列族歟、爾當悟會、王室歟、爾當傾耳而聽、爾罪已擬、因爾若罟設於米斯巴、若網張於他博山、

“ Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor.

“ Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.

Hear this, priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, royal house! For the judgment applies to you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor.

Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, you of the house of the king! For the judgment applies to you, Because you have been a trap at Mizpah, And a net spread out on Tabor.

“ Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For yours is the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah And a net spread on Tabor.

Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

Hear this, priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, royal house! For the judgment applies to you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor.

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment[ is] toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen closely, O king! For judgment is about to overtake you! For you were like a trap to Mizpah, like a net spread out to catch Tabor.

“ Listen to this, you priests! Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king! For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.

People of Ephraim, the prophet, along with my God, is warning you of danger. But you set traps for him everywhere he goes. You hate him so much you even wait for him in God’s house.

On the road to Shechem, groups of priests act like robbers. They hide and wait to attack people. They murder them. So they carry out their evil plans.

“ Now I am giving this warning to you priests.

People of Israel, listen to the Lord’ s message. He is bringing charges against you who live in Israel. He says,“ There is no faithfulness or love in the land. No one recognizes me as God.

Deborah sent for Barak. He was the son of Abinoam. Barak was from Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak,“ The Lord, the God of Israel, is giving you a command. He says,‘ Go! Take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun with you. Then lead them up to Mount Tabor.

Listen to me, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You hate to do what is fair. You twist everything that is right.

“ Their evil conduct even makes the king glad. Their lies make the princes happy.But all the people are unfaithful to the king. Their anger against him burns like the coals in an oven. The baker does not even need to stir up the fire until the dough is ready.”On special days to honor our king, the princes get drunk with wine. And the king enjoys the party. He joins hands with those who pretend to be faithful to him.

“ The high places where Isaac’s people worship other gods will be destroyed. The other places of worship in Israel will also be torn down. I will use my sword to attack Jeroboam’s royal family.”

Go. Tell Jeroboam that the Lord has a message for him. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ I chose you from among the people. I appointed you king over my people Israel.I tore the kingdom away from the royal house of David. I gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David. He obeyed my commands. He followed me with all his heart. He did only what was right in my eyes.You have done more evil things than all those who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself. You have made statues of gods out of metal. You have made me very angry. You have turned your back on me.“‘ Because of that, I am going to bring horrible trouble on your royal house. I will cut off from you every male in Israel. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. I will burn up your royal house, just as someone burns up trash. I will burn it until it is all gone.Some of the people who belong to you will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them. The Lord has spoken!’“ Now go back home. When you enter your city, your son will die.All the Israelites will mourn for him. Then he will be buried. He is the only one who belongs to Jeroboam who will be buried. That is because he is the only one in Jeroboam’s royal house in whom I have found anything good. I am the Lord, the God of Israel.“ I will choose for myself a king over Israel. He will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This day your son will die. Even now this is beginning to happen.I, the Lord, will strike down Israel. Israel will be like tall grass swaying in the water. I will pull Israel up from this good land by the roots. I gave it to their people who lived long ago. I will scatter Israel to the east side of the Euphrates River. That is because they made the Lord very angry. They made poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.I will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed. He has also caused Israel to commit those same sins.”

The Lord said to Jeremiah,“ Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Announce my message there. Tell him,‘ King of Judah, listen to the Lord’ s message. You are sitting on David’s throne. You and your officials and your people come through these gates.The Lord says,“ Do what is fair and right. Save those who have been robbed. Set them free from the people who have treated them badly. Do not do anything wrong to outsiders or widows in this place. Do not harm children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong.Be careful to obey these commands. Then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace. They will come riding in chariots and on horses. Their officials and their people will come along with them.But suppose you do not obey these commands,” announces the Lord.“ Then I promise you that this palace will be destroyed. You can be as sure of this promise as you are sure that I live.” ’ ”The Lord speaks about the palace of the king of Judah. He says,“ You are like the land of Gilead to me. You are like the highest mountain in Lebanon. But I will make you like a desert. You will become like towns that no one lives in.I will send destroyers against you. All of them will come with their weapons. They will cut up your fine cedar beams. They will throw them into the fire.“ People from many nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another,‘ Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’And the answer will be,‘ This happened because of what its people have done. They have turned away from the covenant the Lord their God made with them. They have worshiped other gods. And they have served them.’ ”

“ A son honors his father. A slave honors his master. If I am a father, where is the honor I should have? If I am a master, where is the respect you should give me?” says the Lord who rules over all.“ You priests look down on me.“ But you ask,‘ How have we looked down on you?’

Speak to the king and his mother. Tell them,“ Come down from your thrones. Your glorious crowns are about to fall from your heads.”

Faithful people have disappeared from the land. Those who are honest are gone. Everyone hides and waits to spill the blood of others. They use nets to try and trap one another.

I will attack them like a bear that is robbed of her cubs. I will rip them wide open. Like a lion I will eat them up. Like a wild animal I will tear them apart.

Then I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You should want to judge others fairly.

My people are destroyed because they do not know me.“ You priests have refused to obey me. So I will refuse to accept you as my priests. You have not paid any attention to my law. So I will not let your children be my priests.The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me. They have traded their glorious God for that shameful god named Baal.

The evil Babylonians pull all of them up with hooks. They catch them in their nets. They gather them up. So they celebrate. They are glad.They offer sacrifices to their nets. They burn incense to them. Their nets allow them to live in great comfort. They enjoy the finest food.Are you going to let them keep on emptying their nets? Will they go on destroying nations without showing them any mercy?

“ Go down to see Ahab, the king of Israel. He rules in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab has gone there to take it over.Tell him,‘ The Lord says,“ Haven’t you murdered a man? Haven’t you taken over his property?” ’ Then tell Ahab,‘ The Lord says,“ Dogs licked up Naboth’s blood. In that same place dogs will lick up your blood. Yes, I said your blood!” ’ ”Ahab said to Elijah,“ My enemy! You have found me!”“ I have found you,” he answered.“ That’s because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.So the Lord says,‘ I am going to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy your children after you. I will destroy every male in Israel who is related to you. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free.I will make your royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. You have made me very angry. You have caused Israel to sin.’

“ I am the King. My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. Someone will come who is like Mount Tabor among the mountains. He is like Mount Carmel by the Mediterranean Sea. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the King.

Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet. In it, Elijah said,“ The Lord is the God of your father David. The Lord says,‘ You have not followed the ways of your own father Jehoshaphat or of Asa, the king of Judah.Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to worship other gods, just as the royal family of Ahab did. Also, you have murdered your own brothers. They were members of your own family. They were better men than you are.So now the Lord is about to strike down your people with a heavy blow. He will strike down your sons, your wives and everything that belongs to you.And you yourself will be very sick for a long time. The sickness will finally cause your insides to come out.’ ”

Ephraim’s greatness and glory will be gone. It will fly away like a bird. Women will no longer have children. They will not be able to get pregnant.But suppose they do have children. Then I will kill every one of them. How terrible it will be for them when I turn away from them!Tyre is planted in a pleasant place. And so is Ephraim. But the Assyrians will kill Ephraim’s children.”Lord, what should you do to Ephraim’s people? Give them women whose babies die before they are born. Give them women whose breasts have no milk.The Lord says,“ My people did many evil things in Gilgal. That is why I hated them there. They committed many sins. So I will drive them out of my land. I will not love them anymore. All their leaders refuse to obey me.Ephraim is like a worthless plant. Its roots are dried up. It does not produce any fruit. Suppose Ephraim’s people have children. Then I will kill the children they love so much.”My God will turn his back on his people. They have not obeyed him. So they will wander among other nations.

People of Bethel, that will happen to you. You have committed far too many sins. When the time comes for me to punish you, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.”