Esias 3
1 Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water,
For, behold, the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, doth remove from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, every stay of bread, and every stay of water.
2 the great and mighty man, the warrior and the judge, and the prophet, and the counsellor, and the elder,
The hero, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
3 the captain of fifty also, and the honorable counsellor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer.
The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the skilful artificer, and the eloquent orator.
4 And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them.
And I will set up boys as their princes, and children shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall fall, man upon man, and [every] man upon his neighbor: the child shall insult the elder man, and the base the honorable.
And so shall the people press man against man, and one against the other: the boy shall demean himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.
6 For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father's household, saying, You have raiment, be you our ruler, and let my meat be under you.
When a man will seize hold on his brother in the house of his father, [saying, ] Thou hast a garment, thou shalt be our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
7 And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be your ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor raiment: I will not be the ruler of this people.
He will swear on that day, saying, I will not be a chief; and in my house is neither bread nor clothing; you shall not appoint me a ruler of the people.
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues [have spoken] with iniquity, disobedient [as they are] towards the Lord.
For Jerusalem is sunk to decay, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to incense the eyes of his glory.
9 Therefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest.
The boldness of their face testifieth against them; and like Sodom they tell openly their sin, they conceal it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have prepared evil unto themselves.
10 Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works.
Say ye to the righteous, that he hath done well; for the fruit of their doings shall they eat.
11 Woe to the transgressor! evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands.
Woe unto the wicked who doeth evil; for the recompense of his hands shall be bestowed on him.
12 O my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: O my people, they that pronounce you blesses lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet.
My people! their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O my people! thy leaders cause thee to err, and the direction of thy paths they corrupt.
13 But now the Lord will stand up for judgment, and will enter into judgment with his people.
The Lord is stepped forth to plead, and standeth up to judge the people.
14 The Lord himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers: but why have you set my vineyard on fire, and [why is] the spoil of the poor in your houses?
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and their princes; but ye—ye have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 Why do you wrong my people, and shame the face of the poor?
What mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind down the faces of the poor? saith the Lord the Eternal of hosts.
16 Thus says the Lord, Because the daughters of Sion are haughty, and have walked with an outstretched neck, and with winking of the eyes, and motion of the feet, at the same time drawing their garments in trains, and at the same time sporting with their feet:
And the Lord said, Forasmuch as the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with stretched forth necks and casting about their eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 therefore the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Sion, and the Lord will expose their form in that day;
Therefore will the Lord smite with leprosy the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay open their nakedness.
18 and the Lord will take away the glory of their raiment, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents,
On that day will the Lord take away the beauty of their tinkling shoe-buckles, and the hair-nets, and the crescent-shaped ornaments,
19 and the chains, and the ornaments of their faces,
The drops, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
20 and the array of glorious ornaments, and the armlets, and the bracelets, and the wreathed work, and the finger-rings, and the ornaments for the right hand,
The bonnets, and the foot-chains, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
21 and the ear-rings, and the garments with scarlet borders, and the garments with purple grounds, and the shawls to be worn in the house, and the Spartan transparent dresses, and those made of fine linen, and the purple [ones], and the scarlet [ones], and the fine linen, interwoven with gold and purple, and the light coverings for couches.
The finger-rings, and nose-jewels,
22 And there shall be instead of a sweet smell, dust; and instead of a girdle, you shall gird yourself with a rope; and instead of a golden ornament for the head, you shall have baldness on account of your works; and instead of a tunic with a scarlet ground, you shall gird yourself with sackcloth.
The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the pockets.
23 And your most beautiful son whom you love shall fall by the sword; and your mighty men shall fall by the sword, and shall be brought low.
The mirrors, and the chemisettes, and the turbans, and the long vails.
24 And the stores of your ornaments shall mourn, and you shall be left alone, and shall be levelled with the ground.
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be corruption; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a wide garment a girding of sackcloth, a mark of burning instead of beauty.
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty ones in the war.
And then shall her gates lament and mourn; and stript of all shall she sit upon the ground.
