Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

1For behold, the Lord God of hosts

is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah

support and supply,

all support of bread,

and all support of water;

2the mighty man and the soldier,

the judge and the prophet,

the diviner and the elder,

3the captain of fifty

and the man of rank,

the counselor and the skillful magician

and the expert in charms.

4And I will make boys their princes,

and infants shall rule over them.

5And the people will oppress one another,

every one his fellow

and every one his neighbor;

the youth will be insolent to the elder,

and the despised to the honorable.

6For a man will take hold of his brother

in the house of his father, saying:

“You have a cloak;

you shall be our leader,

and this heap of ruins

shall be under your rule”;

7in that day he will speak out, saying:

“I will not be a healer;

in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;

you shall not make me

leader of the people.”

8For Jerusalem has stumbled,

and Judah has fallen,

because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,

defying his glorious presence.

9For the look on their faces bears witness against them;

they proclaim their sin like Sodom;

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

For they have brought evil on themselves.

10Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,

for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

11Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,

for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

12My people—infants are their oppressors,

and women rule over them.

O my people, your guides mislead you

and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.

13The Lord has taken his place to contend;

he stands to judge peoples.

14The Lord will enter into judgment

with the elders and princes of his people:

“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,

the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15What do you mean by crushing my people,

by grinding the face of the poor?”

declares the Lord God of hosts.

16The Lord said:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty

and walk with outstretched necks,

glancing wantonly with their eyes,

mincing along as they go,

tinkling with their feet,

17therefore the Lord will strike with a scab

the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

18In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;  19the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves;  20the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;  21the signet rings and nose rings;  22the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags;  23the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;

and instead of a belt, a rope;

and instead of well-set hair, baldness;

and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;

and branding instead of beauty.

25Your men shall fall by the sword

and your mighty men in battle.

26And her gates shall lament and mourn;

empty, she shall sit on the ground.