5 You say, "When will the New Moon Feast be over? Then we can sell our grain. When will the Sabbath day come to an end? Then people can buy our wheat." But you don't measure out the right amount. You raise your prices. You cheat others by using dishonest scales.
6 You buy poor people to make slaves out of them. You buy those who are in need for a mere pair of sandals. You even sell the worthless parts of your wheat.
7 People of Jacob, you are proud that the Lord is your God. But he has taken an oath in his own name. He says, "I will never forget anything Israel has done.
8 "The land will tremble because of what will happen. Everyone who lives in it will sob. So the whole land will rise like the Nile River. It will be stirred up. Then it will settle back down again like that river in Egypt."
9 The Lord and King announces, "At that time I will make the sun go down at noon. The earth will become dark in the middle of the day.
10 I will turn your holy feasts into times for sobbing. I will turn all of your songs into crying. You will have to wear black clothes. You will shave your heads. I will make you sob as if your only son had died. The end of that time will be like a bitter day."
11 The Lord and King announces, "The days are coming when I will send hunger through the land. But people will not be hungry for food. They will not be thirsty for water. Instead, they will be hungry to hear a message from me.