Study Desk

The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.

‘And what the priests do, the people also do.' So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds.

They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the Lord

They 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.

But 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.

"Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.

You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done.

Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me."

"O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?" asks the Lord . "For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.

Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin.

"O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.

Burning like an oven, they consume their leaders. They kill their kings one after another, and no one cries to me for help.

"The people of Israel have become like silly, witless doves, first calling to Egypt, then flying to Assyria for help.

But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all the evil they do.

"What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.

They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves, begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me.

"Sound the alarm! The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the Lord , for they have broken my covenant and revolted against my law.

Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us, for you are our God!'

The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction.

Like a wild donkey looking for a mate, they have gone up to Assyria. The people of Israel have sold themselves— sold themselves to many lovers.