“ Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.

撒母耳说：“我耳中听见有羊叫、牛鸣，是从哪里来的呢？”

撒母耳说：“我耳中听见有羊叫、牛鸣的声音，又是什么呢？”

撒母耳说：“我耳中听见有羊叫、牛鸣的声音，又是什么呢？”

撒母耳说：“那么，我现在听见的牛羊叫声是从哪里来的？”

撒母耳说：“我耳中听见有羊叫牛鸣的声音，到底是什么呢？”

撒母耳说：“那么我耳中这羊叫的声音、我所听见的牛叫声，是怎么回事呢？”

撒母耳說：「我耳中聽見有羊叫、牛鳴，是從哪裏來的呢？」

撒母耳說：「我耳中聽見有羊叫、牛鳴的聲音，又是甚麼呢？」

撒母耳說：「我耳中聽見有羊叫、牛鳴的聲音，又是甚麼呢？」

撒母耳說：「那麼，我現在聽見的牛羊叫聲是從哪裡來的？」

撒母耳說：“我耳中聽見有羊叫牛鳴的聲音，到底是甚麼呢？”

撒母耳說：『那麼傳入我耳中的這羊叫的聲音、和我所聽見牛叫的聲音，都是怎麼回事啊？』

撒母耳說：「那麼我耳中這羊叫的聲音、我所聽見的牛叫聲，是怎麼回事呢？」

撒母耳曰、然則我聞羊鳴牛鳴、是何意耶、

撒母耳曰、羊鳴牛吼、入於我耳、是何故與。

撒母耳曰、若然、則入我耳之羊鳴、我所聞之牛吼、由何至歟、

But Samuel said,“ What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

But Samuel said,“ Then why do I hear the baaing of sheep? Why do I hear the mooing of cattle?”

And Samuel said,“ What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

Samuel replied,“ Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”

But Samuel said,“ What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the bellowing of the oxen which I hear?”

But Samuel said,“ What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Samuel replied,“ Then what is this sound of sheep and cattle I hear?”

And Samuel said, What[ meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Samuel replied,“ If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?”

Samuel said,“ Then what does this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the cattle which I hear mean?”

So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time— before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.

But God says to the wicked:“ Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant?For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash.When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers.Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies.You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son.While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!And yet you say,‘ I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.First here, then there— you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.

“ What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to you are the streams of the Nile or the waters of the Euphrates River?Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!“ You say,‘ That’s not true! I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’ But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.

“ You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.“ But you say,‘ What do you mean? What have we said against you?’“ You have said,‘ What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”

“‘ You wicked servant!’ the king roared.‘ Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant,