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They trample the heads of the destitute
    into the dust of the earth,
    and force the lowly out of the way.
Son and father sleep with the same girl,[a]
    profaning my holy name.
Upon garments taken in pledge
    they recline beside any altar.[b](A)
Wine at treasury expense
    they drink in their temples.
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them,
    who were as tall as cedars,
    and as strong as oak trees.
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots beneath.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 2:7 Son and father sleep with the same girl: the crime condemned here may be the misuse of power by the rich who take unfair advantage of young women from the ranks of the poor and force themselves on them, thus adding oppression to the sin of impurity.
  2. 2:8 Upon garments…any altar: creditors kept the garments taken as pledges from the poor instead of returning them to their owners before nightfall as the law commanded (Ex 22:25; cf. Dt 24:12). Wine…in their temples: lavish feasts for the rich, serving the finest wines in great abundance (see 6:4–7) and funded by the treasuries of local temples (e.g., at Dan and Bethel). The Hebrew in this verse is difficult. Another possible translation would be: “And the wine of those who have been fined / they drink in the house of their god.”