Israel and Judah Will Be Judged

The Lord said:

1Listen, you priests!

Pay attention, Israel!+

Listen, you members

of the royal family.

Justice was your duty.

But+ at Mizpah and Mount Tabor

you trapped the people.

2At the place of worship

you were a treacherous pit,+

and I will punish you.

3Israel, I know all about you,

and because of your unfaithfulness,

I find you unacceptable.

4Your evil deeds are the reason

you won't return to me,

your Lord God.

And your constant craving for sex

keeps you from knowing me.

5Israel, your pride

testifies to your guilt;

it makes you stumble,

and Judah stumbles too.

6You offer sheep and cattle

as sacrifices to me,

but I have turned away

and refuse to be found.

7You have been unfaithful

to me, your Lord;

you have had children

by prostitutes.+

So at the New Moon Festival,

you and your crops

will be destroyed.+

The Lord Warns Israel and Judah

8Give a warning on the trumpet!

Let it be heard in Gibeah,

Ramah, and sinful Bethel.+

Benjamin, watch out!+

9I, the Lord, will punish

and wipe out Israel.

This is my solemn promise

to every tribe of Israel.

10Judah's leaders are like crooks

who move boundary markers;

that's why I will flood them

with my anger.

11Israel was brutally crushed.

They got what they deserved

for worshiping useless idols.+

12Now I, the Lord,

will fill Israel with maggots

and make Judah rot.

13When Israel and Judah saw

their sickness and wounds,

Israel asked help from Assyria

and its mighty king.+

But the king cannot cure them

or heal their wounds.

14So I'll become a fierce lion

attacking Israel and Judah.

I'll snatch and carry off

what I want,

and no one can stop me.

15Then I'll return to my temple

until they confess their guilt

and worship me,

until they are desperate

and beg for my help.