God’s Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord,

You children of Israel,

For the Lord brings a acharge 1against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy

Or bknowledge of God in the land.

2 By swearing and lying,

Killing and stealing and committing adultery,

They break all restraint,

With bloodshed 2upon bloodshed.

3 Therefore cthe land will mourn;

And deveryone who dwells there will waste away

With the beasts of the field

And the birds of the air;

Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

4 “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;

For your people are like those ewho contend with the priest.

5 Therefore you shall stumble fin the day;

The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;

And I will destroy your mother.

6 gMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

hBecause you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

7 “The more they increased,

The more they sinned against Me;

iI 3will change 4their glory into shame.

8 They eat up the sin of My people;

They set their 5heart on their iniquity.

9 And it shall be: jlike people, like priest.

So I will punish them for their ways,

And 6reward them for their deeds.

10 For kthey shall eat, but not have enough;

They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;

Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.

The Idolatry of Israel

11 “Harlotry, wine, and new wine lenslave the heart.

12 My people ask counsel from their mwooden idols,

And their 7staff informs them.

For nthe spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,

And they have played the harlot against their God.

13 oThey offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,

And burn incense on the hills,

Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,

Because their shade is good.

pTherefore your daughters commit harlotry,

And your brides commit adultery.

14 “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,

Nor your brides when they commit adultery;

For the men themselves go apart with harlots,

And offer sacrifices with a qritual harlot.

Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot,

Let not Judah offend.

rDo not come up to Gilgal,

Nor go up to sBeth 8Aven,

tNor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—

16 “For Israel uis stubborn

Like a stubborn calf;

Now the Lord will let them forage

Like a lamb in 9open country.

17 “Ephraim is joined to idols,

vLet him alone.

18 Their drink 1is rebellion,

They commit harlotry continually.

wHer 2rulers 3dearly love dishonor.

19 xThe wind has wrapped her up in its wings,

And ythey shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah

5 “Hear this, O priests!

Take heed, O house of Israel!

Give ear, O house of the king!

For 1yours is the judgment,

Because ayou have been a snare to Mizpah

And a net spread on Tabor.

2 The revolters are bdeeply involved in slaughter,

Though I rebuke them all.

3 cI know Ephraim,

And Israel is not hidden from Me;

For now, O Ephraim, dyou commit harlotry;

Israel is defiled.

4 “They 2do not direct their deeds

Toward turning to their God,

For ethe spirit of harlotry is in their midst,

And they do not know the Lord.

5 The fpride of Israel testifies to his face;

Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;

Judah also stumbles with them.

6 “With their flocks and herds

gThey shall go to seek the Lord,

But they will not find Him;

He has withdrawn Himself from them.

7 They have hdealt treacherously with the Lord,

For they have begotten 3pagan children.

Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.

8 “Blow ithe ram’s horn in Gibeah,

The trumpet in Ramah!

jCry aloud at kBeth Aven,

‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’

9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;

Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.

10 “The princes of Judah are like those who lremove a landmark;

I will pour out my wrath on them like water.

11 Ephraim is moppressed and broken in judgment,

Because he willingly walked by nhuman precept.

12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,

And to the house of Judah olike rottenness.

13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,

And Judah saw his pwound,

Then Ephraim went qto Assyria

And sent to King Jareb;

Yet he cannot cure you,

Nor heal you of your wound.

14 For rI will be like a lion to Ephraim,

And like a young lion to the house of Judah.

sI, even I, will tear them and go away;

I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.

15 I will return again to My place

Till they 4acknowledge their offense.

Then they will seek My face;

In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”