3 Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I intend to bring upon this generation such a calamity that you will not cast off your neck, neither will you walk upright; for this is an evil time. (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)
4 On that day they will utter a parable about you and weep bitterly and say: "We are completely ruined! The inheritance of my people is given to others; how will he return to me! Our fields have already been divided among foreigners." (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)
5 Therefore, you will not have anyone who would cast lots for measurement in the congregation before the Lord. (The lot was cast in the public assembly in front of the chief Jewish priest).
6 Do not prophesy, you prophets; do not prophesy to them, lest dishonor come upon you. (In its original meaning, Judaism was not limited to the instructions of the priests, but also included the instructions and warnings of the prophets, uttered, as the prophets themselves and their listeners believed, by inspiration "from above." Thus, in addition to the priestly Judaism, there was also the Judaism of the prophets, but both remained unwritten from the very beginning and for a number of centuries).
7 O you who are called the house of Jacob! Has the Spirit of the Lord been humbled? are these his actions? Are not My words beneficial to him who does what is right? (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)