and in [their] greedthey will exploityou with false words;their judgmentfrom long agois not idle,and their destructionis not asleep.
"You would evencast[lots] for the orphansAnd barteroveryour friend.
As soon as they hear,they obeyme; Foreignerssubmitto me.
Sayto God,"Howawesomeare Your works!Because of the greatnessof Your powerYour enemieswill givefeignedobedienceto You.
"Those who hatethe LORDwould pretendobedienceto Him, And their time[of punishment] would be forever.
Who say,"Let Him makespeed,let Him hastenHis work,that we may see[it]; And let the purposeof the HolyOneof IsraeldrawnearAnd cometo pass,that we may know[it]!"
And the dogsare greedy,they are not satisfied.And they are shepherdswho havenounderstanding;They have allturnedto their own way,Eachoneto his unjustgain,to the lastone.
"The smallestonewill becomea clan,And the leastonea mightynation.I, the LORD,will hastenit in its time."
"For from the leastof them even to the greatestof them, Everyoneis greedyfor gain,And from the propheteven to the priestEveryonedealsfalsely.
"ThereforeI will givetheir wivesto others,Their fieldsto newowners;Becausefrom the leasteven to the greatestEveryoneis greedyfor gain;From the propheteven to the priestEveryonepracticesdeceit.
"For handfulsof barleyand fragmentsof bread,you have profanedMe to My peopleto putto deathsomewhoshould not dieand to keepothersalivewhoshould not live,by your lyingto My peoplewho listento lies."'"
Her leaderspronouncejudgmentfor a bribe,Her priestsinstructfor a priceAnd her prophetsdivinefor money.Yet they leanon the LORDsaying,"Is not the LORDin our midst?Calamitywill not comeupon us."
Godcomesfrom Teman,And the HolyOnefrom MountParan.Selah.His splendorcoversthe heavens,And the earthis fullof His praise.
"Ohthat there were one among you who would shutthe gates,that you might not uselesslykindle[fire on] My altar!I am not pleasedwith you," saysthe LORDof hosts,"norwill I acceptan offeringfrom you.
["Woeto you, scribesand Pharisees,hypocrites,becauseyou devourwidows'houses,and for a pretenseyou makelongprayers;thereforeyou will receivegreatercondemnation].
"I tellyou that He will bring aboutjusticefor them quickly.However,when the Sonof Mancomes,will He findfaithon the earth?"
Sothey watchedHim, and sentspieswho pretendedto be righteous,in orderthat they might catchHim in some statement,sothat they [could] deliverHim to the ruleand the authorityof the governor.
While He was stillspeaking,behold,a crowd[came], and the one calledJudas,oneof the twelve,was precedingthem; and he approachedJesusto kissHim.
and to thosewho were sellingthe dovesHe said,"Takethese thingsaway;stopmakingMy Father'shousea placeof business."
For such menare slaves,not of our LordChristbut of their ownappetites;and by their smoothand flattering speechthey deceivethe heartsof the unsuspecting.
For we are not likemany,peddlingthe wordof God,but as from sincerity,but as from God,we speakin Christin the sightof God.
"You shall not pervertthe justicedue an alien[or] an orphan,nortakea widow'sgarmentin pledge.
Vengeanceis Mine, and retribution,In due timetheir footwill slip;For the dayof their calamityis near,And the impendingthingsare hasteningupon them.'
For we nevercamewith flatteringspeech,as you know,norwith a pretextfor greed--Godis witness--
Whilethey are saying,"Peaceand safety!"thendestructionwill comeupon them suddenlylikelabor painsupon a woman with child,and they will not escape.
not addicted to wineorpugnacious,but gentle,peaceable,free from the love of money.
Deaconslikewise[must be] men of dignity,not double-tongued,oraddictedto muchwineorfond of sordid gain,
and constant frictionbetween menof depravedmindand deprivedof the truth,who supposethat godlinessis a means of gain.
whomustbe silencedbecausethey are upsettingwholefamilies,teachingthingsthey shouldnot [teach] for the sakeof sordidgain.
For the overseermustbe above reproachas God'ssteward,not self-willed,not quick-tempered,not addicted to wine,not pugnacious,not fond of sordid gain,
and, "A STONEOF STUMBLINGAND A ROCKOF OFFENSE";for they stumblebecause they are disobedientto the word,and to this[doom] they were alsoappointed.
shepherdthe flockof Godamongyou, exercising oversightnot under compulsion,but voluntarily,accordingto [the will of] God;and not for sordid gain,but with eagerness;
For we did not followcleverly devisedtaleswhen we made knownto you the powerand comingof our LordJesusChrist,but we were eyewitnessesof His majesty.
But false prophetsalsoaroseamongthe people,justas there will alsobe false teachersamongyou, whowill secretly introducedestructiveheresies,evendenyingthe Masterwho boughtthem, bringingswiftdestructionupon themselves.
[then] the Lordknows howto rescuethe godlyfrom temptation,and to keepthe unrighteousunder punishmentfor the dayof judgment,
Woeto them! For they have gonethe wayof Cain,and for paythey have rushed headlonginto the errorof Balaam,and perishedin the rebellionof Korah.
to executejudgmentupon all,and to convictallthe ungodlyof alltheir ungodlydeedswhichthey have done in an ungodly way,and of allthe harsh thingswhichungodlysinnershave spokenagainstHim."
Theseare grumblers,finding fault,followingaftertheir [own] lusts;they speakarrogantly,flatteringpeoplefor the sakeof [gaining an] advantage.
For certainpersonshave crept in unnoticed,thosewho were longbeforehand markedout for thiscondemnation,ungodly personswho turnthe graceof our Godinto licentiousnessand denyour onlyMasterand Lord,JesusChrist.
justas Sodomand Gomorrahand the citiesaroundthem, since they in the samewayas theseindulged in gross immoralityand wentafterstrangeflesh,are exhibitedas an examplein undergoingthe punishmentof eternalfire.
