| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor 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. |
| 2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. | 2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. |
| 3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. | 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. |
| 4Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. | 4“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. |
| 5Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy 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 thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. | 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. |
| 7As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. | 7The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. |
| 8They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. | 8“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin! |
| 9And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. | 9‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’ So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds. |
| 10For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed 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 |
| 11Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. | 11to worship other gods. “Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. |
| 12My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under 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 upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall 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 commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall. | 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. |
| 15Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. | 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 slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. | 16Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the LORD feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture? |
| 17Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. | 17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry. |
| 18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. | 18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor. |
| 19The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. | 19So a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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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