So the king again sent the captain of a third 50 with his 50. But when the third captain of 50 went up and came near, he knelt before Elijah, and begged him saying, “O man of God, please, let my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours be precious in your eyes!
Our kings, our leaders, our kohanim, and our ancestors have not kept Your Torah or paid attention to Your mitzvot or Your testimonies by which you have admonished them.
Your princes are rebellious and friends with thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, nor does a widow’s case come to them.
Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women that stood by—a large assembly—with all the people dwelling in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying:
Adonai, do Your eyes not look for faithfulness? You struck them, but they did not grieve. You disciplined them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to return.
I will go to the distinguished and speak to them. Surely they know the way of Adonai, the ordinance of their God. But they too had broken the yoke and torn off the bonds.
Because of your filthy obscenity, though I tried to purify you yet you were not made pure, you will never be cleansed from your filth until I have satisfied My fury on you.
“I will seek the lost, bring back the stray, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick. But the fat and the strong I will destroy—I will tend them with justice.
You do not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back the stray or seek the lost. Instead, you have ruled over them with force and cruelty.