1 God’s Charge Against Israel Hear the word of the Lord , You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a Is. 1:18; Hos. 12:2; Mic. 6:2 charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or Jer. 4:22 knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore Is. 24:4; 33:9; Jer. 4:28; 12:4; Amos 5:16; 8:8 the land will mourn; And Zeph. 1:3 everyone 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 Deut. 17:12 who contend with the priest.
5 Therefore you shall stumble Jer. 15:8; Hos. 2:2, 5 in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother.
6 Is. 5:13 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Ezek. 22:26 Because 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; 1 Sam. 2:30; Mal. 2:9 I will change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: Is. 24:2; Jer. 5:30, 31;2 Tim. 4:3, 4 like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds.
10 For Lev. 26:26; Is. 65:13; Mic. 6:14; Hag. 1:6 they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the Lord .
11 The Idolatry of Israel “Harlotry, wine, and new wine Prov. 20:1; Is. 5:12; 28:7 enslave the heart.
12 My people ask counsel from their Jer. 2:27 wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For Is. 44:19, 20 the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.
13 Is. 1:29; 57:5, 7; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 6:13; 20:28 They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade is good. Amos 7:17; (Rom. 1:28–32) Therefore 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 Deut. 23:18 ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.
15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Hos. 9:15; 12:11 Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to 1 Kin. 12:29; Josh. 7:2; Hos. 10:8 Beth Aven, Jer. 5:2; 44:26; Amos 8:14 Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—
16 “For Israel Jer. 3:6; 7:24; 8:5; Zech. 7:11 is stubborn Like a stubborn calf; Now the Lord will let them forage Like a lamb in open country.
17 “Ephraim is joined to idols, Matt. 15:14 Let him alone.
18 Their drink is rebellion, They commit harlotry continually. Mic. 3:11 Her rulers dearly love dishonor.
19 Jer. 51:1 The wind has wrapped her up in its wings, And Is. 1:29 they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.