25. Your iniquities have turned these things away,And your sins have withheld good from you.
26. ‘For among My people are found wicked men;They lie in wait as one who sets snares;They set a trap;They catch men.
27. As a cage is full of birds,So their houses are full of deceit.Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28. They have grown fat, they are sleek;Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the fatherless;Yet they prosper,And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29. Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30. “An astonishing and horrible thingHas been committed in the land:
31. The prophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule by their own power;And My people love to have it so.But what will you do in the end?