What gives you the right to hurt my people? What gives you the right to push the faces of the poor into the dirt?” The Lord GOD All-Powerful said this.
You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven!
The Egyptian slave masters had chosen the Hebrew foremen and had made them responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these foremen and said to them, “Why aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past? If you could do it then, you can do it now!”
The vineyard that belongs to the Lord All-Powerful is the house of Israel. The grapevine, the plant he loves, is the man of Judah. The Lord hoped for justice, but there was only killing. He hoped for fairness, but there were only cries from people being treated badly.
But even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely. And their children will be able to lie down and feel safe. But I will make your family die from hunger, and your enemy will kill anyone who survives.
Fools say foolish things, and in their minds they plan evil things to do. They want to do what is wrong. They say bad things about the Lord. They don’t let hungry people eat their food. They don’t let thirsty people drink the water.