²⁰ Declare this in the house of Jacob,
and publish it in Judah,
saying,
²¹ Hear now this,
O foolish people,
and without [and with nothing of] understanding;
which have eyes,
and see not;
which have ears,
and hear not:
²² Fear ye not me?
saith the LORD:
will ye not tremble at my presence,
which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea
by a perpetual decree,
that it cannot pass it:
and though the waves thereof toss themselves,
yet can they not prevail;
though they roar,
yet can they not pass over it?
²³ But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart;
they are revolted and gone.
²⁴ Neither say they in their heart,
Let us now fear [this] the LORD our God,
that giveth rain,
both the former and the latter,
in his season:
he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
²⁵ Your iniquities have turned away these things,
and your sins have withholden good things from you.
²⁶ For among my people are found wicked men:
they lay wait,
as he that setteth snares;
they set a trap,
they catch men.
²⁷ As a cage is full of birds,
so are their houses full of deceit:
therefore they are become great,
and waxen rich.
²⁸ They are waxen fat,
they shine:
yea,
they overpass the deeds of the wicked:
they judge not the cause,
the cause of the fatherless,
yet they prosper;
and the right of the needy do they not judge.
²⁹ Shall I not visit for these things?
saith the LORD:
shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

³⁰ A wonderful and horrible thing
is committed in the land;
³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests bear rule by their means;
and my people love to have it so:
and what will ye do in the end thereof?