The Lord’s Dispute against the Sinful Priesthood

4:4 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else:8

for my case is against you priests!9

4:5 You stumble day and night,

and the false prophets stumble with you;

You have destroyed your own people!10

4:6 You have destroyed11 my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me,12

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject13 the law of your God,

I will reject14 your descendants.

4:7 The more the priests increased in numbers,

the more they rebelled against me.

They have turned15 their glorious calling

into a shameful disgrace!

4:8 They feed on the sin offerings of my people;

their appetites long for their iniquity!

4:9 I will deal with the people and priests together:16

I will punish them both for their ways,

and I will repay them for their deeds.

4:10 They will eat, but not be satisfied;

they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers;

because they have abandoned the Lord

by pursuing other gods.17