NET Bible

Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land

^2:1 Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so. ^2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes and deprive people of the land they have inherited.

^2:3 Therefore the Lord says this:

^2:3 “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of catastrophe. ^2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you— they will mock you with this lament: ‘We are completely destroyed; they sell off the property of my people. How they remove it from me! They assign our fields to the conqueror.’” ^2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. ^2:6 “Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,” they say excitedly. “These prophets should not preach of such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.” ^2:7 Does the family of Jacob say, “The Lord’s patience can’t be exhausted— he would never do such things”? To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them, ^2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. You steal a robe from a friend, from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ^2:9 You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance. ^2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! For this land is not secure; sin will thoroughly destroy it! ^2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ he would be just the right preacher for these people!

The Lord Will Restore His People

^2:12 “I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob, I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the middle of a pasture; they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. ^2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out; they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them; the Lord himself will lead them.”