| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Hear the word of the LORD, people of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land! | 1Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God. |
| 2Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. | 2There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. |
| 3For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear. | 3Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish. |
| 4But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests. | 4Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests! |
| 5You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother. | 5You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people! |
| 6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons. | 6You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants. |
| 7The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me. I will change their honor into disgrace. | 7The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace! |
| 8They feed on the sin of My people; they have an appetite for their transgressions. | 8They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity! |
| 9The same judgment will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. | 9I will deal with the people and priests together: I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds. |
| 10They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned their devotion to the LORD. | 10They 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. |
| 11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away one's understanding. | 11Old and new wine take away the understanding of my people. |
| 12My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray; they act promiscuously in disobedience to their God. | 12They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner's staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God. |
| 13They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and they burn offerings on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters act promiscuously and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. | 13They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery! |
| 14I will not punish your daughters when they act promiscuously or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, for the men themselves go off with prostitutes and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes. People without discernment are doomed. | 14I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots, they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true: "A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!" |
| 15Israel, if you act promiscuously, don't let Judah become guilty! Do not go to Gilgal or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven, and do not swear an oath: As the LORD lives! | 15Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal! Do not go up to Beth Aven! Do not swear, "As surely as the LORD lives!" |
| 16For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow. Can the LORD now shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow? | 16Israel has rebelled like a stubborn heifer! Soon the LORD will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field! |
| 17Ephraim is attached to idols; leave him alone! | 17Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him! |
| 18When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel's leaders fervently love disgrace. | 18They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior. |
| 19A wind with its wings will carry them off, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices. | 19A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings; they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship. |
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