| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. |
| 2Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. | 2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. |
| 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. | 3That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing. |
| 4But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests. | 4“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. |
| 5You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother. | 5So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. |
| 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. | 6My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. |
| 7The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me. I will change their honor into disgrace. | 7The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. |
| 8They feed on the sin of My people; they have an appetite for their transgressions. | 8“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin! |
| 9The same judgment will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. | 9‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’ So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked 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 and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the LORD |
| 11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away one's understanding. | 11to worship other gods. “Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. |
| 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 ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting 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 offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops. They go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees. “That is why your daughters turn to prostitution, 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. | 14But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? For your men are doing the same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. O foolish people! You refuse to understand, so you will be destroyed. |
| 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! | 15“Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, and do not take oaths there in the LORD’s name. |
| 16For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow. Can the LORD now shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow? | 16Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the LORD feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture? |
| 17Ephraim is attached to idols; leave him alone! | 17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry. |
| 18When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel's leaders fervently love disgrace. | 18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor. |
| 19A wind with its wings will carry them off, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices. | 19So a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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