God Accuses Israel

¹Hear the word of the Lord , O Israelites,

for the Lord has a dispute

with the inhabitants of the land:

There is no truth or mercy,

and no knowledge of God in the land.

²Swearing, lying, and killing,

and stealing and adultery

break out,

and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³Therefore the land dries up,

and everyone who lives in it withers

with the beasts of the field

and the birds of the sky;

even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴Yet let no one contend,

and let none reprove another,

for your people are like those

that contend with a priest.

⁵You will stumble in the day,

and the prophet also will stumble with you in the night,

and I will destroy your mother.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I will reject you from being My priest.

And because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I will also forget your children.

⁷As they increased, so they sinned against Me.

I will change their glory into shame.

⁸They feed upon the sin of My people,

and they are greedy for their iniquity.

⁹It will be like people, like priest.[#Isa 24:2; Jer 5:31]

I will punish them for their ways

and reward them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat, but not be satisfied;[#Lev 26:26; Mic 6:14]

they will play the whore, but not multiply,

because they have forsaken the Lord

by devoting themselves to

¹¹harlotry;

wine and new wine

take away understanding.

The Idolatry of Israel

¹²My people seek counsel from their wood,

and their staff informs them.

For the spirit of harlotry has led them astray,

and they have played the whore in defiance of their God.

¹³They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,

and burn incense upon the hills

under oak, poplar, and elm

because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore,

and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters

when they play the whore,

nor your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery.

For the men separate themselves with whores,

and they sacrifice with cult prostitutes.

A people without understanding will come to ruin.

¹⁵Though you play the whore, O Israel,

do not let Judah offend.

Do not come to Gilgal,

or go up to Beth-aven,

and do not swear, “As the Lord lives.”

¹⁶Like a stubborn heifer,

Israel is stubborn.

Now will the Lord feed them

like a lamb in a wide pasture?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;

let him alone.

¹⁸Their drink has soured,

they have played the whore continually.

Her rulers dearly love shame.

¹⁹A wind has wrapped her in its wings,

and they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.