For a foolspeaksnonsense,And his heartinclinestoward wickedness:To practiceungodlinessand to speakerroragainstthe LORD,To keepthe hungrypersonunsatisfiedAnd to withholddrinkfrom the thirsty.
Do not inclinemy heartto any evilthing,To practicedeedsof wickednessWith menwho doiniquity;And do not let me eatof their delicacies.
The foolishnessof manruinshis way,And his heartragesagainstthe LORD.
Wisdomis [too] exaltedfor a fool,He does not openhis mouthin the gate.
So as to deprivethe needyof justiceAnd robthe poorof My peopleof [their] rights,So that widowsmay be their spoilAnd that they may plunderthe orphans.
I sendit against a godlessnationAnd commissionit againstthe peopleof My furyTo capturebootyand to seizeplunder,And to tramplethem downlike mudin the streets.
[Though] the wickedis shownfavor,He does not learnrighteousness;He dealsunjustlyin the landof uprightness,And does not perceivethe majestyof the LORD.
"Whatdo you mean by crushingMy peopleAnd grindingthe faceof the poor?"Declaresthe LordGODof hosts.
Yet He alsois wiseand will bringdisasterAnd does not retractHis words,But will ariseagainstthe houseof evildoersAnd againstthe helpof the workersof iniquity.
Transgressingand denyingthe LORD,And turningawayfrom our God,Speakingoppressionand revolt,Conceiving[in] and utteringfrom the heartlyingwords.
Their feetrunto evil,And they hastento shedinnocentblood;Their thoughtsare thoughtsof iniquity,Devastationand destructionare in their highways.
Thereforethe Lorddoes not takepleasurein their youngmen,Nordoes He havepityon their orphansor their widows;For everyoneof them is godlessand an evildoer,And everymouthis speakingfoolishness.In [spite of] allthis,His angerdoes not turnawayAnd His handis stillstretchedout.
"Can the Ethiopianchangehis skinOr the leopardhis spots?[Then] you alsocandogoodWho are accustomedto doingevil.
Is it tooslighta thingfor you that you should feedin the goodpasture,that you must treaddownwith your feetthe restof your pastures?Or that you should drinkof the clearwaters,that you must foulthe restwith your feet?
"Manywill be purged,purifiedand refined,but the wickedwill actwickedly;and noneof the wickedwill understand,but those who haveinsightwill understand.
So as to buythe helplessfor moneyAnd the needyfor a pair of sandals,And [that] we may sellthe refuseof the wheat?"
"For out of the heartcomeevilthoughts,murders,adulteries,fornications,thefts,false witness,slanders.
"But woeto you, scribesand Pharisees,hypocrites,becauseyou shutoff the kingdomof heavenfrom people;for you do not enterin yourselves,nordo you allowthosewho are enteringto goin.
Pureand undefiledreligionin the sightof [our] Godand Fatheris this:to visitorphansand widowsin their distress,[and] to keeponeselfunstainedby the world.
"As the proverbof the ancientssays,Out of the wickedcomesforthwickedness;but my handshall not be against you.
