These are the menwho are hidden reefsin your love feastswhen they feastwith you without fear,caringfor themselves;cloudswithout water,carried alongby winds;autumntreeswithout fruit,doublydead,uprooted;
then I will uprootyou from My landwhichI have givenyou, and thishousewhichI have consecratedfor My nameI will castout of My sightand I will makeit a proverband a bywordamong allpeoples.
"His rootswraparounda rockpile,He graspsa houseof stones.
He will be like a tree[firmly] plantedby streamsof water,Whichyieldsits fruitin its seasonAnd its leafdoes not wither;And in whateverhe does,he prospers.
For they will witherquicklylike the grassAnd fadelike the greenherb.
[Like] cloudsand windwithoutrainIs a manwho boastsof his giftsfalsely.
"Say,'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Will it thrive?Will he not pullup its rootsand cutoffits fruit,so that it withers--so that allits sproutingleaveswither?And neitherby greatstrengthnorby manypeoplecan it be raisedfrom its roots[again].
Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Behold,I am againstthe shepherds,and I will demandMy sheepfrom them and make them ceasefrom feedingsheep.So the shepherdswill not feedthemselves anymore,but I will deliverMy flockfrom their mouth,so that they will not be foodfor them."'"
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?
"Sonof man,prophesyagainstthe shepherdsof Israel.Prophesyand sayto those shepherds,'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Woe,shepherdsof Israelwhohave beenfeedingthemselves! Should not the shepherdsfeedthe flock?
"As I live,"declaresthe LordGOD,"surelybecauseMy flockhas becomea prey,My flockhas even becomefoodfor allthe beastsof the fieldfor lackof a shepherd,and My shepherdsdid not searchfor My flock,but [rather] the shepherdsfedthemselves and did not feedMy flock;
Whatshall I dowith you, O Ephraim?Whatshall I dowith you, O Judah?For your loyaltyis like a morningcloudAnd like the dewwhich goesaway early.
"If,however, the markbreaksout againin the houseafterhe has tornout the stonesand scrapedthe house,and afterit has been replastered,
"But when the sunhad risen,they were scorched;and becausethey hadnoroot,they withered away.
But He answeredand said,"EveryplantwhichMy heavenlyFatherdid not plantshall be uprooted.
"And afterthe sunhad risen,it was scorched;and becauseit hadnoroot,it withered away.
"But ifthat slavesaysin his heart,'My masterwill be a long timein coming,'and beginsto beatthe slaves,[both] menand women,and to eatand drinkand get drunk;
"Nowthere was a richman,and he habitually dressedin purpleand fine linen,joyously livingin splendoreveryday.
"Be on guard,sothat your heartswill not be weighted downwith dissipationand drunkennessand the worriesof life,and that daywill not comeon you suddenlylikea trap;
"Other[seed] fellon rocky[soil], and as soon as it grewup, it withered away,becauseit hadnomoisture.
As a result,we are no longerto be children,tossed here and there by wavesand carried aboutby everywindof doctrine,by the trickeryof men,by craftinessin deceitfulscheming;
whoseendis destruction,whosegodis [their] appetite,and [whose] gloryis in their shame,who set their mindson earthly things.
But she who gives herself to wanton pleasureis deadeven while she lives.
Do not be carried awayby variedand strangeteachings;for it is goodfor the heartto be strengthenedby grace,not by foods,throughwhichthosewho were so occupiedwere not benefited.
You have lived luxuriouslyon the earthand led a life of wanton pleasure;you have fattenedyour heartsin a dayof slaughter.
