Wherewill you be strickenagain,[As] you continuein [your] rebellion?The wholeheadis sickAnd the wholeheartis faint.
So he againsentthe captainof a thirdfiftywith his fifty.When the thirdcaptainof fiftywentup, he cameand boweddownon his kneesbeforeElijah,and beggedhim and saidto him, "O manof God,pleaselet my lifeand the livesof thesefiftyservantsof yours be preciousin your sight.
Now in the timeof his distressthissameKingAhazbecameyetmoreunfaithfulto the LORD.
"For our kings,our leaders,our priestsand our fathershave not keptYour lawOr paidattentionto Your commandmentsand Your admonitionswith whichYou have admonishedthem.
Your rulersare rebelsAnd companionsof thieves;Everyonelovesa bribeAnd chasesafter rewards.They do not defendthe orphan,Nordoes the widow'spleacomebeforethem.
Returnto Him from whomyou have deeplydefected,O sonsof Israel.
And noresidentwill say,"I am sick";The peoplewho dwellthere will be forgiven[their] iniquity.
Yet the peopledo not turnbackto Him who struckthem, Nordo they seekthe LORDof hosts.
Manasseh[devours] Ephraim,and EphraimManasseh,[And] togetherthey are againstJudah.In [spite of] allthis,His angerdoes not turnawayAnd His handis stillstretchedout.
"Can the Ethiopianchangehis skinOr the leopardhis spots?[Then] you alsocandogoodWho are accustomedto doingevil.
"The heartis moredeceitfulthanallelse And is desperatelysick;Whocan understandit?
"In vainI have struckyour sons;They acceptednochastening.Your swordhas devouredyour prophetsLike a destroyinglion.
Then allthe menwho were awarethat their wiveswere burningsacrificesto othergods,along with allthe womenwho were standingby, [as] a largeassembly,including allthe peoplewho were livingin Pathrosin the landof Egypt,respondedto Jeremiah,saying,
O LORD,do not Your eyes[look] for truth?You have smittenthem, [But] they did not weaken;You have consumedthem, But they refusedto takecorrection.They have madetheir facesharderthanrock;They have refusedto repent.
The prophetsprophesyfalsely,And the priestsruleon their [own] authority;And My peopleloveit so!But whatwill you doat the endof it?
"I will goto the greatAnd will speakto them, For they knowthe wayof the LORD[And] the ordinanceof their God."But they too, with oneaccord,have brokenthe yoke[And] burstthe bonds.
"They bendtheir tongue[like] their bow;Liesand not truthprevailin the land;For they proceedfrom evilto evil,And they do not knowMe," declaresthe LORD.
Becauseof thisour heartis faint,Becauseof thesethingsour eyesare dim;
"In your filthinessis lewdness.BecauseI [would] have cleansedyou, Yet you are not clean,You will not be cleansedfrom your filthinessagainUntilI have spentMy wrathon you.
"I will seekthe lost,bringbackthe scattered,bindup the brokenand strengthenthe sick;but the fatand the strongI will destroy.I will feedthem with judgment.
"Those who are sicklyyou have not strengthened,the diseasedyou have not healed,the brokenyou have not boundup, the scatteredyou have not broughtback,norhave you soughtfor the lost;but with forceand with severityyou have dominatedthem.
