They ¹  utter empty words, ²  taking ³  false oaths and making empty ⁴  agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds ⁵  in the furrows of a plowed field.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ¹  ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ² 

Then some soldiers ¹  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ²  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³  or by false accusation, ⁴  and be content with your pay.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ¹  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ²  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ³  and the delusions of their own mind.

The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, ¹  who does not lie, ²  or make promises with no intention of keeping them. ³ 

This is your fate, the destiny to which I have appointed you, because you have forgotten me and have trusted in false gods.

“‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, ¹  I am against you, ²  declares the sovereign Lord.

Make the work harder ¹  for the men so they will keep at it ²  and pay no attention to lying words!” ³ 

A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; ¹  despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.

How will he severely punish you, you deceptive talker? ¹ 

who speak lies, and make false promises. ¹ 

Excessive ¹  speech ²  is not becoming for a fool; ³  how much less are lies ⁴  for a ruler! ⁵ 

Look, all of them are nothing, ¹  their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. ² 

Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. ¹ 

The businessmen love to cheat; ¹  they use dishonest scales. ² 

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

¹ So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

For I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you ²  listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” ³ 

Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised.

‘I know your works as well as your ¹  labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate ²  evil. You have even put to the test ³  those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false.