1. For behold, the sovereign Lord of hosts will take away, from Jerusalem and from Judah, the powerful and the strong: all the strength from bread, and all the strength from water;
2. the strong man, and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the seer and the elder;
3. the leader over fifty and the honorable in appearance; and the counselor, and the wise among builders, and the skillful in mystical speech.
4. And I will provide children as their leaders, and the effeminate will rule over them.
5. And the people will rush, man against man, and each one against his neighbor. The child shall rebel against the elder, and the ignoble against the noble.
6. For a man will apprehend his brother, from the household of his own father, saying: "The vestment is yours. Be our leader, but let this ruin be under your hand."
7. In that day, he will respond by saying: "I am not a healer, and there is no bread or vestment in my house. Do not choose to appoint me as a leader of the people."
8. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah has fallen, because their words and their plans are against the Lord, in order to provoke the eyes of his majesty.
9. The acknowledgement of their countenance is their response. For they have proclaimed their own sin, like Sodom; and they have not concealed it. Woe to their souls! For evils are being repaid to them.
10. Tell the just man that it is well, for he shall eat from the fruit from his own plans.
11. Woe to the impious man immersed in evil! For retribution will be given to him from his own hands.
12. As for my people, their oppressors have despoiled them, and women have ruled over them. My people, who call you blessed, the same are deceiving you and disrupting the path of your steps.
13. The Lord stands for judgment, and he stands to judge the people.