Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes.

祸哉！那些以虚假之细绳牵罪孽的人！他们又像以套绳拉罪恶，

祸哉！那些以虚假的绳子牵引罪孽，以套车的绳索紧拉罪恶的人。

祸哉！那些以虚假的绳子牵引罪孽，以套车的绳索紧拉罪恶的人。

那些用虚假作绳子扯来罪恶，用套绳拉来邪恶的人有祸了！

那些人虚假的绳索牵引罪孽，又像用车绳拉罪恶的人，有祸了！

祸哉！他们那样的人！他们用虚谎之绳牵拉罪孽、牵拉罪恶，就像用套车之绳一样。

禍哉！那些以虛假之細繩牽罪孽的人！他們又像以套繩拉罪惡，

禍哉！那些以虛假的繩子牽引罪孽，以套車的繩索緊拉罪惡的人。

禍哉！那些以虛假的繩子牽引罪孽，以套車的繩索緊拉罪惡的人。

那些用虛假作繩子扯來罪惡，用套繩拉來邪惡的人有禍了！

那些人虛假的繩索牽引罪孽，又像用車繩拉罪惡的人，有禍了！

有禍啊，那些以虛謊的繩索牽引着罪罰，像以套車粗繩拉罪之報應的人；

禍哉！他們那樣的人！他們用虛謊之繩牽拉罪孽、牽拉罪惡，就像用套車之繩一樣。

以虛偽為繩引邪惡、如以曳車之索牽罪戾、禍哉其人、

人行惡而取戾、若以索曳車、其有禍乎、

禍哉斯人、以惡為索、牽引災罰、亦如以曳車之巨繩、牽引罪報、

Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,

How terrible it will be for those who continue to sin and lie about it! How terrible for those who keep on doing what is evil as if they were tied to it!

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,

What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!

Woe to those who drag iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,

Woe to those who drag wrongdoing with the cords of deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes;

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;

Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope,

But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.

For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. So the land is dried up because it is under his curse. The pastures in the wilderness are withered.

The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!

They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.

“‘ This is because they have led my people astray saying,“ All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones will fall and a violent wind will break out.

for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin.

Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene.

Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.

O LORD, they crush your people; they oppress the nation that belongs to you.They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land, and they murder the fatherless.Then they say,“ The LORD does not see this; the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.”Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand?Does the one who makes the human ear not hear? Does the one who forms the human eye not see?Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish? He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!The LORD knows that peoples’ thoughts are morally bankrupt.

At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps. I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, those who think to themselves,‘ The LORD neither rewards nor punishes.’

He says to himself,“ God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices.”

Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says,“ I have done wrong!” All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the LORD, require of them.How can you say,“ We are wise! We have the law of the LORD”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel,“ Give us your advice. What should we do?”Ahithophel replied to Absalom,“ Have sex with your father’s concubines whom he left to care for the palace. All Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. Then your followers will be motivated to support you.”So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom had sex with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation. Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel.

Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered,“ We will not listen to what you claim the LORD has spoken to us!Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles.But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.”The women added,“ We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.”

Micah said,“ Now I know God will make me rich, because I have this Levite as my priest.”

“ Do you really think anyone can hide himself where I cannot see him?” the LORD asks.“ Do you not know that I am everywhere?” the LORD asks.

Fools say to themselves,“ There is no God.” They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right.

This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies( although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life.

No one is concerned about justice; no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words and tell lies; they conceive of oppression and give birth to sin.They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.

Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah,“ Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie!So the LORD says,‘ I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’”

For you say,“ We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”