Then two men told the people that they heard Naboth speak against God and against the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city. Then they killed him with rocks.
Isaiah 5:23 - Easy To Read Version And if you pay those people money, they will forgive a criminal. But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Who justify and acquit the guilty for a bribe, but take away the rights of the innocent and righteous from them! American Standard Version (1901) that justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Common English Bible who spare the guilty for bribes, and rob the innocent of their rights. Catholic Public Domain Version For you justify an impious man in exchange for bribes, and you carry away the justice of a just man from him. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version That justify the wicked for gifts, and take away the justice of the just from him. |
Then two men told the people that they heard Naboth speak against God and against the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city. Then they killed him with rocks.
Now each one of you must fear the Lord. Be careful in what you do because the Lord our God is fair. The Lord doesn’t treat some people more important than others. And he doesn’t accept money to change his judgments.”
Those judges attack good people.\par They say that innocent people are guilty\par and kill them.\par
The Lord hates these two things—punishing someone that has done nothing wrong, and forgiving someone that is guilty.
People will turn against a judge that tells a guilty person that he can go free. Even people from other nations will say bad things against that judge.
Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. All of your rulers demand bribes—they accept money for doing wrong things. All of your rulers take pay for cheating people. Your rulers don’t try to help the children that have no parents. And your rulers don’t listen to the needs of the women whose husbands are dead.”
Look at the lawmakers that write evil laws. Those lawmakers write laws that make life hard for people.
Those lawmakers are not fair to the poor people. They take away the poor people’s rights. They allow people to steal from widows and orphans. {\cf2\super [112]}
But now those leaders are drunk. The priests and prophets are all drunk with wine and beer. They stumble and fall down. The prophets are drunk when they see their dreams. The judges are drunk when they make their decisions.
(Those people lie about good people. They try to trap people in court. They try to destroy innocent people.)
That foolish person uses evil like a tool. He plans ways to take everything from poor people. That foolish person tells lies about the poor people. And his lies keep the poor people from being judged fairly.
Why? Because I know about your many sins.\par You have done some really bad things:\par You hurt people that do right.\par You accept money to do wrong.\par You keep justice from the poor people in court.\par
The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes\par to help them decide who wins in court.\par The priests in Jerusalem must be paid\par before they will teach the people.\par People must pay the prophets\par before they will look into the future.\par And then those leaders expect the Lord\par to help them. They say,\par “The Lord lives here with us.\par So nothing bad will happen to us.”\par
People are good at doing bad things\par with both hands.\par Officials ask for bribes.\par Judges take money\par to change their decisions in court.\par “Important leaders” \{don’t make\par good and fair decisions\}.\par They do whatever they want to do.\par
So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people that have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the killing of that good man Abel. {\cf2\super [357]} And you will be guilty for the killing of Zechariah {\cf2\super [358]} son of Berachiah. He was killed between the temple {\cf2\super [359]} and the altar. {\cf2\super [360]} You will be guilty for the killing of all the good people that lived between the time of Abel and the time of Zechariah.
You must always be fair. You must not favor some people over other people. You must not take money to change your mind in judgment. Money blinds the eyes of wise people and changes what a good person will say.
You showed no mercy to good people. They were not against you, but you killed them.