The leaders_of_Israel are guilty
1Listen to what I say:
‘Leaders of Jacob, rulers of Israel,
you must listen.
You know what is right,
2but you hate everything that is good
and you love everything that is bad.
You do to my people what you do to animals.
3You eat their meat and you take off their skins.
You break their bones
and you cut their meat
like you cut meat
when you are going to cook it.
4Then you call to the Lord
and you ask Him to help you.
But He does not answer you.
He does not want to listen to you,
because you have done wrong.’
The sun will go down for the prophets
5The Lord says about the prophets who deceive his people:
‘If someone gives them food,
they say there will be peace,
and if they don't give them food,
they say there will be war.
6That is why it will become dark for you.
The Lord will not show you what will happen.
The sun will go down for the prophets.
It will be dark for them.
7The prophets think they know what will happen
but they will not know what to say,
because God will not speak to them.’
8But I am full of power.
The Spirit of the Lord has made me strong.
I know what is right,
and I am not afraid to tell the people of Jacob
that they have sinned.
9Leaders of the family of Jacob,
you must listen.
You hate doing what is right,
and you think it is right to do wrong.
10The city of Jerusalem is full of murderers
and people who do wrong.
It is your fault.
11The leaders who must say what is right
ask people to pay them money to do it.
The prophets who must say what will happen
ask the people to pay them money to do it.
You don't do right,
but you say the Lord is with you.
You say: ‘He will bless us
and we will have no problems.’
12Because you do this,
the enemies will come
and they will plough Jerusalem
like you plough a field.
They will destroy Jerusalem
and the mountain where the temple is
will become full of bushes.
