From the ends of the earth we ¹  hear songs – the Just One is majestic. ²  But I ³  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ⁴ 

A deceiver’s methods are evil; ¹  he dreams up evil plans ²  to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right. ³ 

I have received a distressing message: ¹  “The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys. Attack, you Elamites! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning!” ² 

A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

The destroyer is as good as dead, ¹  you who have not been destroyed! The deceitful one is as good as dead, ²  the one whom others have not deceived! When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed; when you finish ³  deceiving, others will deceive you!

He feeds on ashes; ¹  his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ² 

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ² 

This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

“Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

The officials of Zoan are fools, the officials of Memphis ¹  are misled; the rulers ²  of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

They intended to bury him with criminals, ¹  but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ²  because ³  he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.

The Lord says, “The women ¹  of Zion are proud. They walk with their heads high ²  and flirt with their eyes. They skip along ³  and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. ¹  He will give you renewed strength, ²  and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.