6. He will help those who are fair when they judge. He will give strength to those who turn back their enemies at the city gate.
7. Israel 's leaders are drunk from wine. They can't walk straight. They are drunk from beer. They are unsteady on their feet. Priests and prophets drink beer. They can't walk straight. They are mixed up from drinking too much wine. They drink too much beer. They are unsteady on their feet. The prophets see visions but don't really understand them. The priests aren't able to make good decisions.
8. They throw up. All of the tables are covered with the mess they've made. There isn't one spot on the tables that isn't smelly and dirty.
9. My people are making fun of me. They say, "Who does he think he's trying to teach? Who does he think he's explaining his message to? Is it to children who do not need their mother's milk anymore? Is it to those who have just been taken from her breast?
10. Here is how he teaches. Do this and do that. Do that and do this. Obey this rule and obey that rule. Obey that rule and obey this rule. Learn a little here and learn a little there."
11. All right then, these people won't listen to me. So God will speak to them. He will speak by using people who speak unfamiliar languages. He will speak by using the mouths of strangers.
12. He said to his people, "I am offering you a resting place. Let those who are tired rest." He continued, "I am offering you a place of peace and quiet." But they wouldn't listen.
13. So then, here is what the Lord's message will become to them. Do this and do that. Do that and do this. Obey this rule and obey that rule. Obey that rule and obey this rule. Learn a little here and learn a little there. So when they try to go forward, they'll fall back and be wounded. They'll be trapped and captured.
14. Listen to the Lord's message, you who make fun of the truth. Listen, you who rule over these people in Jerusalem.
15. You brag, "We have entered into a covenant with death. We have made an agreement with the grave. When a terrible plague comes to punish us, it can't touch us. That's because we depend on lies to keep us safe. We hide behind what isn't true."