הוֹי חֹשְׁבֵי־אָוֶן וּפֹעֲלֵי רָע עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם בְאוֹר הַבֹּקֶר יַעֲשׂוּהָ כִּי יֶשׁ־לְאֵל יָדָם

The prophet again admonishes the people. His criticism is directed mainly at the powerful ones who oppress and take advantage of the weak. Woe! The devisers of iniquity, who think sinful and wicked thoughts, and the evildoers who perform it, formulate their plans, on their beds at the morning light, because they simply have the power in hand to act as they wish.

וְחָמְדוּ שָׂדוֹת וְגָזָלוּ ובָתִּים וְנָשָׂאוּ וְעָשְׁקוּ גֶּבֶר וּבֵיתוֹ וְאִישׁ וְנַחֲלָתוֹ

They coveted fields and robbed them; desired houses, and took them; they exploited a man and his house, a person and his inheritance.

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' הִנְנִי חֹשֵׁב עַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה הַזֹּאת רָעָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תָמִישׁוּ מִשָּׁם צַוְּארֹתֵיכֶם וְלֹא תֵלְכוּ רוֹמָה כִּי עֵת רָעָה הִיא

Therefore, so said the Lord: Behold, I am devising harm upon this family, the noble classes; it will be a burden from which you will not be able to move your necks, and not walk with your heads upright, as it is a time of harm.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִשָּׂא עֲלֵיכֶם מָשָׁל וְנָהָה נְהִי נִהְיָה אָמַר שָׁדוֹד נְשַׁדֻּנוּ חֵלֶק עַמִּי יָמִיר אֵיךְ יָמִישׁ לִי לְשׁוֹבֵב שָׂדֵינוּ יְחַלֵּק

On that day, a parable will be recounted about you, as you will become the subject of conversations and a symbol of woe, and a lamentation will be lamented by those who weep over the suffering, saying: We have been plundered by these people, who robbed and destroyed us; the portion of my people has been exchanged, as those powerful individuals exchanged our family inheritances as they desired. How can it be moved for me, to change my status and return our fields to their rightful owners and divide them? Many interpret this verse as referring to an external enemy that will come and seize the people’s fields.

לָכֵן לֹא־יִהְיֶה לְךָ מַשְׁלִיךְ חֶבֶל בְּגוֹרָל בִּקְהַל ה'

Therefore, there will not be anyone who casts the line for you by lot, there will be no son of the members of this group who will merit an inherited portion, in the congregation of the Lord.

אַל־תַּטִּפוּ יַטִּיפוּן לֹא־יַטִּפוּ לָאֵלֶּה לֹא יִסַּג כְּלִמּוֹת

They, those wicked men, will preach to the prophets: Do not preach! Indeed, they will not preach to these, as there is no point in teaching morality to such people; they, the wicked, will not withdraw for humiliation over their actions. They do not understand the prophets’ reprimand, and it has no effect upon them at all.

הֶאָמוּר בֵית־יַעֲקֹב הֲקָצַר רוּחַ ה' אִם אֵלֶּה מַעֲלָלָיו הֲלוֹא דְבָרַי יֵיטִיבוּ עִם הַיָּשָׁר הֹלֵךְ

Is this worthy of being said, house of Jacob, as those evil ones say, in objection to the prophets: Is the spirit of the Lord impatient? Does He not have patience? Are these troubles of which the prophets speak His exploits? Does the Lord always cause trouble? No, rather, are not My words beneficial to one who walks with the upright, whereas you do not deserve the good?

וְאֶתְמוּל עַמִּי לְאוֹיֵב יְקוֹמֵם מִמּוּל שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר תַּפְשִׁטוּן מֵעֹבְרִים בֶּטַח שׁוּבֵי מִלְחָמָה

Yesterday My people was set as an enemy, one against the other, as each oppresses his neighbor; in exchange for a garment you would strip a mantle from unsuspecting passersby on the roads, from those returning from war. In exchange for your simple garment, you take the expensive mantles of others, and you even snatch the loot of those returning from war, without pangs of conscience.

נְשֵׁי עַמִּי תְּגָרְשׁוּן מִבֵּית תַּעֲנֻגֶיהָ מֵעַל עֹלָלֶיהָ תִּקְחוּ הֲדָרִי לְעוֹלָם

The women of My people you banish from the house of her delight, and you take those women for yourselves; from their young children you take away My grandeur [hadari] forever. The many interpretations of hadari include: their mother, the garments of the poor, their houses or vessels, or sexual relations.

קוּמוּ וּלְכוּ כִּי לֹא זֹאת הַמְּנוּחָה בַּעֲבוּר טָמְאָה תְּחַבֵּל וְחֶבֶל נִמְרָץ

Therefore, you too arise and go, as this land is not the resting place; because it was defiled, it, the land, will wound you, and it will be an intense, powerful and painful, wound.

לוּ אִישׁ הֹלֵךְ רוּחַ וָשֶׁקֶר כִּזֵּב אַטִּף לְךָ לַיַּיִן וְלַשֵּׁכָר וְהָיָה מַטִּיף הָעָם הַזֶּה

If a man is a wind walker, a peculiar individual, and deceived falsely by saying: I will preach to you of wine and of strong drink, he would be a preacher of this people. If a somewhat odd and mendacious person would present himself as a prophet and instruct the people to consume wine, he would be popular despite his eccentricities.

אָסֹף אֶאֱסֹף יַעֲקֹב כֻּלָּךְ קַבֵּץ אֲקַבֵּץ שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל יַחַד אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ כְּצֹאן בָּצְרָה כְּעֵדֶר בְּתוֹךְ הַדָּבְרוֹ תְּהִימֶנָה מֵאָדָם

It is unclear whether the following is a statement of comfort or a description of the people’s punishment. I will gather all of you, Jacob; I will assemble the remnant of Israel; I will place them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its sheepfold. They, the cities, will be crowded and boisterous with the people who will live there. This refers either to the return of Israel to their land and their cities after exile and the large population that they will become, or to the ingathering of the people to the cities due to fear of the enemy.

עָלָה הַפֹּרֵץ לִפְנֵיהֶם פָּרְצוּ וַיַּעֲבֹרוּ שַׁעַר וַיֵּצְאוּ בוֹ וַיַּעֲבֹר מַלְכָּם לִפְנֵיהֶם וַה' בְּרֹאשָׁם

The meaning of this verse, too, is ambiguous. The one who breaks through, the king, the leader, went up before them; they broke through and passed the gate and exited from it; their king passed before them, and the Lord is at their head. If this is describing the continuation of the punishment, then it is referring to the exile, which includes the king, while God Himself accompanies Israel in its exile, as it were. Alternatively, the verse is speaking of someone who will form a new, upright passage for the people, and this king will lead them on the path of God.