1  Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,

for ^wthe Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,

and no ^xknowledge of God in the land;

2  there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3  Therefore the land mourns,

and all who dwell in it languish,

and also the beasts of the field

and the birds of the heavens,

and even the ^yfish of the sea are taken away.

4  Yet let no one contend,

and let none accuse,

for with you is my contention, O ^zpriest.¹

5  You shall stumble by day;

the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;

and I will destroy ^ayour mother.

6  My people are destroyed ^bfor lack of knowledge;

because you have rejected knowledge,

I reject you from being a priest to me.

And since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

7  ^cThe more they increased,

the more they sinned against me;

I will change their glory into ^dshame.

8  They feed on the sin² of my people;

they are greedy for their iniquity.

9  ^eAnd it shall be like people, like priest;

I will punish them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.

10  ^fThey 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,

which take away the understanding.

12  My people inquire of a piece of wood,

and their walking staff gives them oracles.

For a ^gspirit of whoredom has led them astray,

and they have left their God to play the whore.

13  They sacrifice ^hon the tops of the mountains

and burn offerings on the hills,

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;

for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes

and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,

and a people ⁱwithout understanding shall come to ruin.

15  Though you play the whore, O Israel,

let not Judah become guilty.

Enter not into ^jGilgal,

nor go up to ^kBeth-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  Ephraim is joined to idols;

leave him alone.

18  When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;

their rulers³ dearly love shame.

19  A wind has wrapped them⁴ in its wings,

and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.