Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak, you who treat poor people as less than nothing, Who say, “When’s my next paycheck coming so I can go out and live it up? How long till the weekend when I can go out and have a good time?” Who give little and take much, and never do an honest day’s work. You exploit the poor, using them— and then, when they’re used up, you discard them.
Zechariah 5:6The MessageI said, “What in the world is that?” He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.” See the chapter |
8 Cross References
“Do you expect me to overlook obscene wealth you’ve piled up by cheating and fraud? Do you think I’ll tolerate shady deals and shifty scheming? I’m tired of the violent rich bullying their way with bluffs and lies. I’m fed up. Beginning now, you’re finished. You’ll pay for your sins down to your last cent. No matter how much you get, it will never be enough— hollow stomachs, empty hearts. No matter how hard you work, you’ll have nothing to show for it— bankrupt lives, wasted souls. You’ll plant grass but never get a lawn. You’ll make jelly but never spread it on your bread. You’ll press apples but never drink the cider. You have lived by the standards of your king, Omri, the decadent lifestyle of the family of Ahab. Because you’ve slavishly followed their fashions, I’m forcing you into bankruptcy. Your way of life will be laughed at, a tasteless joke. Your lives will be derided as futile and fake.”
Advertisements