All the good people in the country are gone, there's no one who does right left anywhere. Everyone is looking to murder others; they try to trap even their own brothers.
They lie in ambush like a lion ready to attack, ready to leap out from their hiding place to seize their victim. They capture the helpless, throwing a net over them.
People will mistreat one another, person against person, neighbor against neighbor; the young will assault the old, and the dregs of society will attack those who are reputable.
But for the moment I'm going to send for many fishermen and they'll catch them, declares the Lord. Then I'm going to send for many hunters, and they'll hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from their hiding places in the rocks.
I've heard exactly what they said, but they don't tell the truth. No one is sorry for doing wrong, asking, “What have I done?” Everyone chooses their own way, like a horse charging into battle.
Your people take money to murder others. You charge interest and make a profit on loans, and use extortion to get money from your neighbors. You have forgotten all about me, declares the Lord God.
So this is what the Lord God says: Disaster is coming to the city that has shed so much blood! It is symbolized by the rusted pot, whose rust can't be cleaned off. Take out the meat bit by bit as it comes—don't choose which piece.
Lately my people have risen up against me like an enemy. You steal the coats off the backs of those passing by, men returning from war who expect to be safe in their homeland.
For I will no longer care about the people of the Land, declares the Lord. I am going to make them victims of each other, and of the king. They will devastate the earth and I won't help anyone get away from them.
Take a look, my father! You see this piece of your robe I'm holding. Yes, I did cut it off, but I didn't kill you. Now you can see for yourself and you can be sure that I have done nothing evil or rebellious. I have not sinned against you, but you are hunting me down, trying to kill me.
Please don't let me die so far from the presence of the Lord. The king of Israel has come to chase down one little flea, hunting me like someone who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”