¹Hear the word of the Lord,

You sons of Israel,

For the Lord has a quarrel

With the inhabitants of the land.

For there is no truth,

And there is no mercy,

And there is no knowledge of God in the land.

²They burst out in cursing and lying

And murder and stealing and adultery,

And they strike with bloodshed upon bloodshed.

³That is why the earth will mourn,

And every inhabitant of it will languish,

Among the wild animals

And among the birds of the sky.

And also the fish of the sea will perish.

⁴But let no-one quarrel

And no-one contend,

For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

⁵So you will stumble in the daytime,

And the prophet will stumble too with you at night,

And I will reduce your mother to silence.

⁶My people are reduced to silence for want of knowledge,

For you have rejected knowledge,

And I have rejected you from officiating as a priest to me.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I for my part will forget your sons.

⁷As they increased,

They sinned against me.

They have exchanged my honour

For dishonour.

⁸They eat the sin-offering of my people,

And they set their affections on iniquity.

⁹And the people and the priest acted in the same way,

So I will visit their ways on them,

And I will requite them with their own deeds.

¹⁰And they will eat,

But not be satisfied,

And they will commit prostitution

But not abound,

For they have forsaken the Lord

And the keeping of his law.

¹¹Prostitution and wine and new wine

Have taken hold of their heart.

¹²My people inquires at its wooden idol,

And its stick answers them,

For a spirit of prostitution has led them astray,

And they commit prostitution

Under the eyes of their God.

¹³On the tops of mountains they offer sacrifices,

And on the hills they burn incense,

Under the oak tree, the white poplar and the terebinth,

For its shade is pleasant,

Which is why your daughters commit prostitution,

And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters

When they commit prostitution,

Or your daughters-in-law

When they commit adultery,

For the men go aside with prostitutes,

And they sacrifice with the harlots.

So the people who do not understand will stumble.

¹⁵Although you engage in prostitution, O Israel,

Don't let Judah become guilty.

And do not go to Gilgal,

And do not go up to Beth-Aven,

And do not swear, “The Lord lives.”

¹⁶For Israel is recalcitrant like a recalcitrant heifer,

And now the Lord will put them to pasture,

Like a lamb in a wide open place.

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;

Leave him to it.

¹⁸Their drinking bout has gone,

They have loved committing abundant prostitution;

Give them their way.

Her princes are a dishonour.

¹⁹The wind has tied her up in her wings,

And they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.