Bible Verses About Rulers

The weak ye have not strengthened, And the sick one ye have not healed, And the broken ye have not bound up, And the driven away have not brought back, And the lost ye have not sought, And with might ye have ruled them and with rigour.

Therefore, shepherds, hear a word of Jehovah:

I live--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, If not, because of My flock being for a prey, Yea, My flock is for food to every beast of the field, Because there is no shepherd, And My shepherds have not sought My flock, And the shepherds do feed themselves, And My flock they have not fed.

Therefore, O shepherds, hear a word of Jehovah:

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against the shepherds, And have required My flock from their hand, And caused them to cease from feeding the flock, And no more do the shepherds feed themselves, And I have delivered My flock from their mouth, And they are not to them for food.

`Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Enough to you--princes of Israel; violence and spoil turn aside, and judgment and righteousness do; lift up your exactions from off My people--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

Princes of Judah have been as those removing a border, On them I do pour out as water My wrath.

With their wickedness they make glad a king, And with their lies--princes.

Cut off is Samaria! Its king is as a chip on the face of the waters.

And they have not known to act straightforwardly, An affirmation of Jehovah, Who are treasuring up violence and spoil in their palaces.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: An adversary--and surrounding the land, And he hath brought down from thee thy strength, And spoiled have been thy palaces.

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, Who are in the mountain of Samaria, Who are oppressing the poor, Who are bruising the needy, Who are saying to their lords: `Bring in, and we do drink.'

Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by His holiness, That lo, days are coming upon you, And he hath taken you away with hooks, And your posterity with fish-hooks.

Therefore, because of your trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have planted, And ye do not drink their wine.

For I have known--many are your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.

Do horses run on a rock? Doth one plough it with oxen? For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, `Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'

And I say, `Hear, I pray you, heads of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?

Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,

And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stript, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread them out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a caldron.

Hear this, I pray you, heads of the house of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And all uprightness do pervert.

Building up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.

Her heads for a bribe do judge, And her priests for hire do teach, And her prophets for silver divine, And on Jehovah they lean, saying, `Is not Jehovah in our midst? Evil doth not come in upon us.'

On the evil are both hands to do it well, The prince is asking--also the judge--for recompence, And the great--he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.

Their best one is as a brier, The upright one--than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen--Thy visitation--hath come. Now is their perplexity.