The rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence. Your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.

城里的富户满行强暴；其中的居民也说谎言，口中的舌头是诡诈的。

城里的有钱人遍行残暴，其中的居民说谎话，口中的舌头尽是诡诈。

城里的有钱人遍行残暴，其中的居民说谎话，口中的舌头尽是诡诈。

城中的富人残暴成性，居民谎话连篇，满口诡诈之言。

城里的财主充满了强暴，其中的居民也说假话；他们口中的舌头是诡诈的。

城裏的富戶滿行強暴；其中的居民也說謊言，口中的舌頭是詭詐的。

城裏的有錢人遍行殘暴，其中的居民說謊話，口中的舌頭盡是詭詐。

城裏的有錢人遍行殘暴，其中的居民說謊話，口中的舌頭盡是詭詐。

城中的富人殘暴成性，居民謊話連篇，滿口詭詐之言。

城裡的財主充滿了強暴，其中的居民也說假話；他們口中的舌頭是詭詐的。

城裏的富人滿行強暴，它的居民都說假話；他們口中的舌頭是詭詐。

邑中富人、充於強暴、居民言誑、口舌詭譎、

富者專行強據、邑中庶民、互相欺誑、鼓舌妄言、

邑中富者、恆行強暴、居民好言偽妄、舌施詭詐、

Your rich people are violent; your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.

The rich people among you harm others. You are always telling lies. You try to fool others by what you say.

Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.

For the rich people of the city are full of violence, Her residents speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.

For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue[ is] deceitful in their mouth.

The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; her inhabitants lie, their tongues speak deceptive words.

Her rich men are full of violence, her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their speech.

“ What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.

For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows. They speak friendly words to their neighbors while scheming in their heart to kill them.

Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.

Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert. For they are all adulterers— a pack of treacherous liars.“ My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me,” says the Lord.“ Beware of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning.They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,” says the Lord.

For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.

The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many.

Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark.Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them.They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead.We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are.We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies.Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.

Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say,‘ My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.

“ Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people.Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.“ Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?

You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them.For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying:“ There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another.

Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right.You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption.You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.“ No harm can come to us,” you say,“ for the Lord is here among us.”

Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.

What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, and people go to you for help.But go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed.You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.

“ I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside!

The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.Don’t trust anyone— not your best friend or even your wife!For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter in law defies her mother in law. Your enemies are right in your own household!

“ Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters in law, or who rape their own sisters.There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.“ But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:“ Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through.She spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores.

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones.Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot.

“ Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.”“ Snake venom drips from their lips.”