| New Living Translation | International Standard Version |
| 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. | 1"Hear this message from the LORD, people of Israel. Indeed, the LORD brings a charge against the people who live in the land— for there is no truth and no gracious love or knowledge of God in the land. |
| 2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. | 2Swearing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery are rampant, and blood mingles with blood. |
| 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. | 3Therefore the land will mourn, and all who live there will languish, along with the wild animals of the field and the birds of the air. Even the fish in the sea will disappear. |
| 4“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. | 4"Let no one fight or bring charges against another, for my dispute is with you, priest. |
| 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. | 5So you will stumble during the day, the prophet also will stumble with you at night, and I will destroy your mother. |
| 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. | 6My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me. Because you rejected that knowledge, I will reject you as a priest for me. Since you forget the Law of your God, I will also forget your children. |
| 7The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. | 7"The more they increased in number, the more they sinned against me, so I will change their glory into shame. |
| 8“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin! | 8They feed on the sin of my people; they purpose in their heart to transgress. |
| 9‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’ So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds. | 9So it will be: like people, like priest. I will punish them for their lifestyles, rewarding them according to their behavior. |
| 10They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the LORD | 10They will eat, but will not be satisfied. They will engage in prostitution, but they won't increase, because they have stopped listening to the LORD. |
| 11to worship other gods. “Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. | 11"Sexual immorality, wine, and fresh wine seduce the heart of my people. |
| 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. | 12My people seek counsel from their piece of wood, and their diviner's rod speaks to them. For a spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray; in their immorality they desert their God. |
| 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. | 13They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops, burning offerings on the hills, under oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees, since their shade is very good. Therefore your daughters are prostitutes and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. |
| 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. | 14However, I'm not going to punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because their men are themselves immoral— they offer sacrifices with prostitutes. These people who aren't discerning will stumble. |
| 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. | 15"Even though you prostitute yourself, Israel— let not Judah incur guilt— don't go to Gilgal, or visit Beth-aven, or swear an oath using the LORD's name. |
| 16Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the LORD feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture? | 16For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn mule! Nevertheless, will not the LORD feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture? |
| 17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry. | 17Ephraim has become entwined with idols; leave him alone! |
| 18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor. | 18While drinking to excess, they prostitute themselves. They're in love with dishonor. |
| 19So a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame. | 19A wind storm will carry them away in its embrace, and their sacrifices will bring them shame." |
| 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. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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