unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good,

I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction.

Ephraim will be oppressed, ¹  crushed ²  under judgment, ³  because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. ⁴ 

Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

Their hearts are calloused, ¹  but I find delight in your law.

Surely oppression ¹  can turn a wise person into a fool; ²  likewise, ³  a bribe corrupts ⁴  the heart. ⁵ 

To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, brutally treated, and without a roof over our heads.

His victims are crushed and beaten down; they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ¹ 

So a strong nation will extol you; the towns of ¹  powerful nations will fear you.

So they put foremen ¹  over the Israelites ²  to oppress ³  them with hard labor. As a result ⁴  they built Pithom and Rameses ⁵  as store cities for Pharaoh.

The slave masters were pressuring ¹  them, saying, “Complete ²  your work for each day, just like when there was straw!”

From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble ¹  for this people, and you have certainly not rescued ²  them!” ³ 

I rescued you from Egypt’s power ¹  and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you.

Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy ¹  and the Lord responded favorably, ²  for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. ³ 

Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail. ¹  Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.

O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ¹  Rescue ²  me ³  from their destructive attacks; guard my life ⁴  from the young lions!

At that time ¹  the sovereign master ²  will wash the excrement ³  from Zion’s women, he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, ⁴  as he comes to judge and to bring devastation. ⁵ 

Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; ¹  they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold. ² 

For this is what the sovereign master ¹  has told me: “Within exactly one year ²  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

For you are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. Though the breath of tyrants ¹  is like a winter rainstorm, ²