"The LORD's people grew rich, but rebellious; they were fat and stuffed with food. They abandoned God their Creator and rejected their mighty savior.

(SEE 15:26)

They are the ones who captured cities and seized houses whose owners had fled, but war will destroy those cities and houses.

Some people stay healthy till the day they die; they die happy and at ease, their bodies well-nourished.

(SEE 21:23)

And so they wear pride like a necklace and violence like a robe;

their hearts pour out evil, and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

That is what the wicked are like. They have plenty and are always getting more.

They have no understanding, but I find pleasure in your law.

Listen to this, you women of Samaria, who grow fat like the well-fed cows of Bashan, who mistreat the weak, oppress the poor, and demand that your husbands keep you supplied with liquor!

You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.

Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter.

You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you.

But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws.

Now listen, Jerusalem, to what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying. By not obeying my laws or keeping my commands, you have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have followed the customs of other nations.

Were you satisfied to follow in their footsteps and copy their disgusting actions? No, in only a little while you were acting worse than they were in everything you did.

She and her daughters were proud because they had plenty to eat and lived in peace and quiet, but they did not take care of the poor and the underprivileged.

"Samaria did not sin half as much as you have. You have acted more disgustingly than she ever did. Your corruption makes your sisters look innocent by comparison.

Now, it is actually being said that there is sexual immorality among you so terrible that not even the heathen would be guilty of it. I am told that a man is sleeping with his stepmother!

Does it make you a better king if you build houses of cedar, finer than those of others? Your father enjoyed a full life. He was always just and fair, and he prospered in everything he did.

But you can only see your selfish interests; you kill the innocent and violently oppress your people. The LORD has spoken.

With the funeral honors of a donkey, he will be dragged away and thrown outside Jerusalem's gates."

When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.

I have always acted justly and fairly.

May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.

"You must stop judging unjustly; you must no longer be partial to the wicked!

Rescue them from the power of evil people.

Your leaders are rebels and friends of thieves; they are always accepting gifts and bribes. They never defend orphans in court or listen when widows present their case.

Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners who live among you, or anyone else in need. And do not plan ways of harming one another.'

" LORD, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed?

But thieves and godless people live in peace, though their only god is their own strength.

That is what the wicked are like. They have plenty and are always getting more.