Esias 3
1 Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water,
For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water;
2 the great and mighty man, the warrior and the judge, and the prophet, and the counsellor, and the elder,
The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years;
3 the captain of fifty also, and the honorable counsellor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer.
The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers.
4 And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them.
And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them.
5 And the people shall fall, man upon man, and [every] man upon his neighbor: the child shall insult the elder man, and the base the honorable.
And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble.
6 For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father's household, saying, You have raiment, be you our ruler, and let my meat be under you.
When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition:
7 And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be your ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor raiment: I will not be the ruler of this people.
Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people.
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues [have spoken] with iniquity, disobedient [as they are] towards the Lord.
For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath.
9 Therefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest.
Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full.
10 Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works.
Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways.
11 Woe to the transgressor! evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands.
Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.
12 O my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: O my people, they that pronounce you blesses lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet.
As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way.
13 But now the Lord will stand up for judgment, and will enter into judgment with his people.
The Lord is ready to take up his cause against his people, and is about to come forward as their judge.
14 The Lord himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers: but why have you set my vineyard on fire, and [why is] the spoil of the poor in your houses?
The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force.
15 Why do you wrong my people, and shame the face of the poor?
By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies.
16 Thus says the Lord, Because the daughters of Sion are haughty, and have walked with an outstretched neck, and with winking of the eyes, and motion of the feet, at the same time drawing their garments in trains, and at the same time sporting with their feet:
Again, the Lord has said, Because the daughters of Zion are full of pride, and go with outstretched necks and wandering eyes, with their foot-chains sounding when they go:
17 therefore the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Sion, and the Lord will expose their form in that day;
The Lord will send disease on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will let their secret parts be seen.
18 and the Lord will take away the glory of their raiment, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents,
In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments,
19 and the chains, and the ornaments of their faces,
The ear-rings, and the chains, and the delicate clothing,
20 and the array of glorious ornaments, and the armlets, and the bracelets, and the wreathed work, and the finger-rings, and the ornaments for the right hand,
The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers,
21 and the ear-rings, and the garments with scarlet borders, and the garments with purple grounds, and the shawls to be worn in the house, and the Spartan transparent dresses, and those made of fine linen, and the purple [ones], and the scarlet [ones], and the fine linen, interwoven with gold and purple, and the light coverings for couches.
The rings, and the nose-jewels,
22 And there shall be instead of a sweet smell, dust; and instead of a girdle, you shall gird yourself with a rope; and instead of a golden ornament for the head, you shall have baldness on account of your works; and instead of a tunic with a scarlet ground, you shall gird yourself with sackcloth.
The feast-day dresses, and the robes, and the wide skirts, and the handbags,
23 And your most beautiful son whom you love shall fall by the sword; and your mighty men shall fall by the sword, and shall be brought low.
The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils.
24 And the stores of your ornaments shall mourn, and you shall be left alone, and shall be levelled with the ground.
And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free.
Your men will be put to the sword, and your men of war will come to destruction in the fight.
And in the public places of her towns will be sorrow and weeping; and she will be seated on the earth, waste and uncovered.
