The Lord Accuses Israel
aHear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for bthe Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and cno knowledge of God in the land;
2 athere is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and bbloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore athe land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
band also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
cand even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 aYet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is bmy contention, O priest.
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy ayour mother.
6 My people are destroyed afor lack of knowledge;
bbecause you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you cfrom being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
dI also will forget your children.
7 aThe more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
bI will change their glory into shame.
8 aThey feed on the sin of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 aAnd it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 aThey shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish
11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
which atake away the understanding.
12 My people ainquire of a piece of wood,
and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For ba spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 aThey sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
and burn offerings on the hills,
bunder oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for athe men themselves go aside with prostitutes
and sacrifice with bcult prostitutes,
and a people cwithout understanding shall come to ruin.
15 Though you play the whore, O aIsrael,
let not aJudah become guilty.
bEnter not into cGilgal,
nor go up to dBeth‑aven,
and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?
17 aEphraim is joined to idols;
bleave him alone.
18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
atheir rulers dearly love shame.
19 aA wind has wrapped them in its wings,
and they shall bbe ashamed because of their sacrifices.