Then he said to me, “These are the houses for boiling, where the ministers of the temple boil the sacrifices of the people.”

They rush into ¹  the city; they scale ²  its walls. They climb up into the houses; they go in through the windows like a thief.

They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. ¹  They defraud people of their homes, ²  and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ³ 

For there was no one needy ¹  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ²  them ³  and bringing the proceeds from the sales

If you do not release ¹  my people, then I am going to send ²  swarms of flies ³  on you and on your servants and on your people and in your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground they stand on. ⁴ 

The Lord did so; a ¹  thick ²  swarm of flies came into ³  Pharaoh’s house and into the houses ⁴  of his servants, and throughout the whole land of Egypt the land was ruined ⁵  because of the swarms of flies.

For seven days ¹  yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast – that person ²  will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner ³  or one born in the land.

The houses of villages, however, ¹  which have no wall surrounding them ²  must be considered as the field ³  of the land; they will have the right of redemption and must revert in the jubilee.

houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – and you eat your fill,

But now at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search through your palace and your servants’ houses. They will carry away all your valuables.” ¹ 

This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ¹  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

They will travel to Sheol like sheep, ¹  with death as their shepherd. ²  The godly will rule ³  over them when the day of vindication dawns; ⁴  Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses. ⁵ 

The Lord comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴  You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵ 

Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹  those who also accumulate landed property ²  until there is no land left, ³  and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ⁴ 

He will become a sanctuary, ¹  but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel. ²  He will become ³  a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, ¹  their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. ²  That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful. ³ 

Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power ¹  against those who live in this land,” says the Lord.

For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion. They will wail, ¹  ‘We are utterly ruined! ²  We are completely disgraced! For our houses have been torn down and we must leave our land.’” ³ 

‘Death has climbed in ¹  through our windows. It has entered into our fortified houses. It has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’

Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. ¹  But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, ²  as I commanded your ancestors. ³