| 1 | For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, |
| 2 | The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, |
| 3 | The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. |
| 4 | And I will give children [to be] their princes, and babes shall rule over them. |
| 5 | And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. |
| 6 | When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, [saying], Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and [let] this ruin [be] under thy hand: |
| 7 | In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house [is] neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. |
| 8 | For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings [are] against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. |
| 9 | The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide [it] not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. |
| 10 | Say ye to the righteous, that [it shall be] well [with him]: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. |
| 11 | Woe unto the wicked! [it shall be] ill [with him]: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. |
| 12 | [As for] my people, children [are] their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. |
| 13 | The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. |
| 14 | The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor [is] in your houses. |
| 15 | What mean ye [that] ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts. |
| 16 | Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing [as] they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: |
| 17 | Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. |
| 18 | In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of [their] tinkling ornaments [about their feet], and [their] cauls, and [their] round tires like the moon, |
| 19 | The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, |
| 20 | The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, |
| 21 | The rings, and nose jewels, |
| 22 | The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, |
| 23 | The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. |
| 24 | And it shall come to pass, [that] instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; [and] burning instead of beauty. |
| 25 | Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. |
| 26 | And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she [being] desolate shall sit upon the ground. |
