“ But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你中间所流的血，就拍掌叹息。

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你们中间所流的血，就击打手掌。

“看哪，我因你所得不义之财和你们中间所流的血，就击打手掌。

“‘我见你谋财害命，就击掌叹息。

“‘看哪！因你所得的不义之财，又因在你中间所流的血，我就拍掌。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你中間所流的血，就拍掌歎息。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你們中間所流的血，就擊打手掌。

「看哪，我因你所得不義之財和你們中間所流的血，就擊打手掌。

「『我見你謀財害命，就擊掌歎息。

“‘看哪！因你所得的不義之財，又因在你中間所流的血，我就拍掌。

『所以你看，我因你所得的不義之財、又因你中間所有流人血的事，我就拍掌歎息。

因爾所得非義之利、及爾中所流之血、我則擊掌、

爾貪非義之利、草菅人命、我見之憤恨鼓掌。

爾行不義得財、殺人流血、我忿恨鼓掌、

“‘ I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.

“‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city.

“ Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.

“‘ Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

“ Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you.

“ Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.

Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

“ Now look, I clap My hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

“‘ See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed they have done among you.

“‘“ Behold, therefore I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been within you.

I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

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—

Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!

“ Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre, the great massacre facing them on every side.

This is what the Lord says:“ The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals.They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name.At their religious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security. In the house of their gods, they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours,and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant,“ We are safe!”— only to go right back to all those evils again?Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.But this is what the Lord says:“ I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”

Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor. Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.

Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.

“ My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the Lord.“ Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence.

What shall I say about the homes of the wicked filled with treasures gained by cheating? What about the disgusting practice of measuring out grain with dishonest measures?How can I tolerate your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights?

Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.

King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted,“ I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times.

“ Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people.Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.