4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
4:2 There is only cursing,* lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. / *That is, to pronounce a curse on
4:3 Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away.
4:4 “But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
4:5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother -
4:6 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.
4:7 The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God* for something disgraceful. / *Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; I will exchange their glory
4:8 They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
4:9 And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
4:10 “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves
4:11 to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding.
4:12 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.
4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
4:14 “I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes - a people without understanding will come to ruin!
4:15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven.* And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ / *Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
4:16 The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the Lord pasture them like lambs in a meadow?
4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
4:18 Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
4:19 A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.