Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.

你的官长居心悖逆，与盗贼作伴，各都喜爱贿赂，追求赃私。他们不为孤儿伸冤；寡妇的案件也不得呈到他们面前。

你的官长悖逆，与盗贼为伍，全都喜爱贿赂，追求赃物；他们不为孤儿伸冤，寡妇的案件也呈不到他们面前。

你的官长悖逆，与盗贼为伍，全都喜爱贿赂，追求赃物；他们不为孤儿伸冤，寡妇的案件也呈不到他们面前。

你的首领是叛逆之徒，与盗贼为伍，个个收受贿赂，贪图好处，不为孤儿辩护，不替寡妇申冤。

你的官长存心悖逆，与盗贼同伙；人都贪爱贿赂，追索私酬；他们不替孤儿伸冤，寡妇的案件也呈不到他们面前。

你的首领们悖逆，与盗贼同伙；他们都贪爱贿赂，追逐赃酬；他们不为孤儿伸冤；寡妇的争讼也达不到他们面前。

你的官長居心悖逆，與盜賊作伴，各都喜愛賄賂，追求贓私。他們不為孤兒伸冤；寡婦的案件也不得呈到他們面前。

你的官長悖逆，與盜賊為伍，全都喜愛賄賂，追求贓物；他們不為孤兒伸冤，寡婦的案件也呈不到他們面前。

你的官長悖逆，與盜賊為伍，全都喜愛賄賂，追求贓物；他們不為孤兒伸冤，寡婦的案件也呈不到他們面前。

你的首領是叛逆之徒，與盜賊為伍，個個收受賄賂，貪圖好處，不為孤兒辯護，不替寡婦伸冤。

你的官長存心悖逆，與盜賊同夥；人都貪愛賄賂，追索私酬；他們不替孤兒伸冤，寡婦的案件也呈不到他們面前。

你的大官倔強要造反，跟盜賊作伴；個個都喜愛賄賂，追求私酬；他們不為孤兒伸冤；寡婦的案件呈不到他們面前。

你的首領們悖逆，與盜賊同夥；他們都貪愛賄賂，追逐贓酬；他們不為孤兒伸冤；寡婦的爭訟也達不到他們面前。

爾之牧伯悖逆、黨於盜賊、好賄賂、索苞苴、不伸孤子之冤、不理嫠婦之訟、○

爾之君長悖逆乎我、與盜為侶、好賄賂、納苞苴、孤子嫠婦、不伸其冤。

爾之侯伯悖逆、與盜為侶、俱好賄賂、求贓私、不為孤子辨屈、嫠婦不敢至前訴冤、

Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.

Your rulers refuse to obey the Lord. They join forces with robbers. All of them love to accept money from those who want special favors. They are always looking for gifts from other people. They don’t stand up in court for children whose fathers have died. They don’t do it for widows either.

Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love graft and chase after bribes. They do not defend the rights of the fatherless, and the widow’s case never comes before them.

Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after gifts. They do not obtain justice for the orphan, Nor does the widow’s case come before them.

Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love graft and chase after bribes. They do not defend the rights of the fatherless, and the widow’s case never comes before them.

Thy princes[ are] rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.

Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They don’t defend the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.

Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.

“ Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.

Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

“ There was a judge in a certain city,” he said,“ who neither feared God nor cared about people.A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying,‘ Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself,‘ I don’t fear God or care about people,but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.

“ But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”

What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws.They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.

The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people:“ You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.

The Lord says,“ All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels.

He said to them,“ The Scriptures declare,‘ My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

“ Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters in law, or who rape their own sisters.There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.

“ At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.“ Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?

But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice.They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.Yet the Lord sent prophets to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen.Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said,“ This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that they stone him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple.

The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.They brought in the two disciples and demanded,“ By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,“ Rulers and elders of our people,are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed?Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,‘ The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.

You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.“ No harm can come to us,” you say,“ for the Lord is here among us.”

So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.

He said to them,“ The Scriptures declare,‘ My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—

You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly.

But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

He said to them,“ The Scriptures declare,‘ My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor.

“ The people entertain the king with their wickedness, and the princes laugh at their lies.They are all adulterers, always aflame with lust. They are like an oven that is kept hot while the baker is kneading the dough.On royal holidays, the princes get drunk with wine, carousing with those who mock them.

The wicked take secret bribes to pervert the course of justice.

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones.Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot.