And as troops of robbers wait for a man, {so} the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. {by...: Heb. with one shoulder, or, to Shechem} {lewdness: or, enormity}

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. {secret...: Heb. digging}

And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear {your} lies?

And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

For the sins of her prophets, {and} the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in {yourselves}, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.

Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused {him} to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. {the mother...: or, the mother city a young man spoiling, etc, or, the mother and the young men}

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one {is} given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Her princes in the midst thereof {are} like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, {and} to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. {slaves: or, bodies}

Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and {there was} no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered {morter}: {a wall: or, a slight wall}

A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; {A wonderful...: or, Astonishment and filthiness}

Yea, {they are} greedy dogs {which} can never have enough, and they {are} shepherds {that} cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. {greedy: Heb. strong of appetite} {can...: Heb. know not to be satisfied}

Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. {life: Gr. breath}

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. {an...: or, filthiness}

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.

Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. {teachers: Heb. interpreters}

Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one {is} given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; {that prophesy out...: Heb. that are prophets out of their own hearts}

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the {women} that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive {that come} unto you? {armholes: or, elbows}

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. {wrong: or, wrested}

Her princes within her {are} roaring lions; her judges {are} evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

Benjamin shall ravin {as} a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed {be} the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. {their desolate...: or, their widows} {the fulness...: or, all it containeth}

Her princes in the midst thereof {are} like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, {and} to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

And her prophets have daubed them with untempered {morter}, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

Then shall they know that I {am} the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: {but} ye feed not the flock.

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. {blood: Heb. bloods}

I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, {and} the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, {and} burst the bonds.

They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. {blood: Heb. bloods}

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

Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah {is} exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. {full of blood: Heb. filled with, etc} {perverseness: or, wresting of judgment}

Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

Who {is} the wise man, that may understand this? and {who is he} to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth {and} is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. {I will...: or, In gathering I will consume}

So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, {and} to serve other gods, whom they knew not, {neither} they, ye, nor your fathers.

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.