14. So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail. He took away the branch and the stalk in one day.
15. (The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.)
16. Their guides are leading them the wrong way, so those who follow them will be destroyed.
17. All of them are evil. So the Lord is not happy with the young men, and he will not show mercy to their widows and orphans. That is because they are evil hypocrites. They tell lies. The Lord has punished them, but he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.