1
kSee ch. 5:1 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
forlIsa. 3:13, 14; Jer. 25:31; Mic. 6:2 the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
andm[ver. 6, 14; Jer. 4:22; 5:4] no knowledge of God in the land;
2 n[ch. 7:1] there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, ando[ch. 6:9; 12:14; Mic. 3:10; 7:2] bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 ThereforepIsa. 24:4; Jer. 4:28; Joel 1:10 the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
q[Joel 1:18; Zeph. 1:3] and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
r[Ezek. 38:20] and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 s[ver. 17] Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you ist[Deut. 17:12] my contention, O priest.1Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroyuch. 2:2 your mother.
6 My people are destroyedv[ver. 1; Isa. 5:13] for lack of knowledge;
w[Prov. 1:29] because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject youx[Ex. 19:6] from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
y[Jer. 23:39] I also will forget your children.
7 z[ch. 13:6] The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
a1 Sam. 2:30; Mal. 2:9 I will change their glory into shame.
8 b[Lev. 6:25, 26; 10:17] They feed on the sin1Or sin offering of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 cIsa. 24:2 And it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 dLev. 26:26; Mic. 6:14; Hag. 1:6 They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish
11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
whiche[1 Kgs. 11:4; Prov. 20:1] take away the understanding.
12 My peoplef[Judg. 18:5] inquire of a piece of wood,
and their walking staff gives them oracles.
Forgch. 5:4; [ch. 2:2] a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 hEzek. 6:13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
and burn offerings on the hills,
i[Isa. 1:29] under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
nor your brides when they commit adultery;
forj[ch. 9:10] the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
and sacrifice withkDeut. 23:17 cult prostitutes,
and a peoplel[ver. 1, 6] without understanding shall come to ruin.
15 Though you play the whore, OmSee ch. 6:4 Israel,
let notmSee ch. 6:4 Judah become guilty.
nAmos 4:4, 5; 5:5 Enter not intooch. 9:15; 12:11 Gilgal,
nor go up topch. 5:8; 10:5; [ch. 10:8; 1 Kgs. 12:29; Amos 1:5] Beth-aven,
and swear not, “As the Lord lives. ”
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?
17 q[ver. 12; ch. 5:3] Ephraim is joined to idols;
r[Matt. 15:14] leave him alone.
18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
s[ch. 9:10] their rulers dearly love shame.
19 tch. 13:15; Jer. 4:11; 51:1; [Zech. 5:9] A wind has wrapped them in its wings,
and they shallu[Isa. 1:29] be ashamed because of their sacrifices.