1. Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,because the Lord has a charge to bringagainst you who live in the land:‘There is no faithfulness, no love,no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2. There is only cursing, lying and murder,stealing and adultery;they break all bounds,and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3. Because of this the land dries up,and all who live in it waste away;the beasts of the field, the birds in the skyand the fish in the sea are swept away.
4. ‘But let no one bring a charge,let no one accuse another,for your people are like thosewho bring charges against a priest.
5. You stumble day and night,and the prophets stumble with you.So I will destroy your mother –
6. my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.‘Because you have rejected knowledge,I also reject you as my priests;because you have ignored the law of your God,I also will ignore your children.
7. The more priests there were,the more they sinned against me;they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.
8. They feed on the sins of my peopleand relish their wickedness.
9. And it will be: like people, like priests.I will punish both of them for their waysand repay them for their deeds.
10. ‘They will eat but not have enough;they will engage in prostitution but not flourish,because they have deserted the Lordto give themselves
11. to prostitution;old wine and new winetake away their understanding.
12. My people consult a wooden idol,and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;they are unfaithful to their God.