“As surely as God lives, ¹  who has denied me justice, ²  the Almighty, who has made my life bitter ³  –

“These people have denied what the Lord says. ¹  They have said, ‘That is not so! ²  No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine. ³ 

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ¹