1
Hear the word of the LORD , you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land. |
2 There is only cursing,1 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse upon lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed. |
3 Because of this the land mourns,2 4:3 Or dries up
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea are dying. |
4 "But let no man bring a charge,
let no man accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest. |
5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother- |
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. |
7 The more the priests increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged3 4:7 Syriac and an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text I will exchange their4 4:7 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition my Glory for something disgraceful. |
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness. |
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds. |
10 "They will eat but not have enough;
they will engage in prostitution but not increase,
because they have deserted the LORD
to give themselves |
11 to prostitution,
to old wine and new,
which take away the understanding |
12 of my people.
They consult a wooden idol
and are answered by a stick of wood.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
they are unfaithful to their God. |
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution
and your daughters-in-law to adultery. |
14 "I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes-
a people without understanding will come to ruin! |
15 "Though you commit adultery, O Israel,
let not Judah become guilty. |
16 The Israelites are stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the LORD pasture them
like lambs in a meadow? |
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone! |
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways. |
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame. |
