God, look at how these arrogant ones have defied me. Like a vicious band of violent men, they have tried to kill me. They wouldn’t worry for a moment that they were sinning against you!
these arrogant ones, so smug and secure! In their delusion the wicked boast, saying, “God doesn’t care about what we do. There’s nothing to worry about!”
They are proud and insolent; they’ve set an ambush for me in secret. They are determined to snare me in their net like captured prey. Pause in his presence
The rebellion of sin speaks as an oracle of God, speaking deeply to the conscience of wicked men. Yet they are still eager to sin, for the fear of God is not before their eyes.
God said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what these leaders of Israel are doing in secret, each one worshiping in his own personal shrine? They say, ‘Oh, Yahweh cannot see us; he has left the land.’ ”
He answered me, “The guilt of the people of Israel and Judah is enormous. The land is full of bloodshed, and Jerusalem full of perverted justice. They say, ‘Yahweh can’t see us! He has abandoned the nation.’