The king sent a third captain with his company of fifty men. When the third captain had climbed the hill, he fell to his knees before Elijah, pleading with him. He said, “Man of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants, count for something in your sight!
Yes, our kings, our princes, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law; They paid no attention to your commandments and the warnings which you gave them.
Your princes are rebels and comrades of thieves; Each one of them loves a bribe and looks for gifts. The fatherless they do not defend, the widow’s plea does not reach them.
They answered Jeremiah—all the men who knew that their wives were offering sacrifices to other gods, all the women standing there in the immense crowd, and all the people who lived in Lower and Upper Egypt:
Lord, do your eyes not search for honesty? You struck them, but they did not flinch; you laid them low, but they refused correction; They set their faces harder than stone, and refused to return.
Let me go to the leaders and speak with them; For they must know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. But, one and all, they have broken the yoke, torn off the harness.
Be on your guard, everyone against his neighbor; put no trust in any brother. Every brother imitates Jacob, the supplanter, every neighbor is guilty of slander.
Even in defiling yourself with depravity I would still have cleansed you, but you would not have your impurity cleansed. You will not be cleansed now until I wreak my fury on you.
The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment. Separation of the Sheep.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost but ruled them harshly and brutally.