God’s Case against His People
Hear the word of the LORD, Jer 4:22Mic 6:21Co 15:34Isa 3:13-14Amo 7:16Hos 12:2Isa 1:18Isa 34:1
O children of Israel,
for the LORD has a case
against the people of the land:
“There is no truth, no loving devotion,
and no knowledge of God in the land!
Cursing and lying, Hos 6:91Th 2:15Jer 6:7Mic 7:2Hos 7:1Jer 5:26-27Jer 5:7-9Jer 7:6-10
murder and stealing,
and adultery are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.
Therefore the land mourns, Zep 1:3Isa 24:4-12Nam 1:4Amo 5:16Ezk 38:20Jer 12:4Jer 4:27-28Amo 8:8
and all who dwell in it will waste away
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air;
even the fish of the sea disappear.
But let no man contend; Deu 17:12Ezk 3:26Hos 4:17Amo 5:13Jer 18:18Mat 7:3-6Amo 6:10
let no man offer reproof;
for your people are like those
who contend with a priest. 1
You will stumble by day, Hos 2:2Jer 15:8Gal 4:26Zec 13:2Ezk 13:9-16Ezk 14:7-10Ezk 16:44-45Hos 9:7-8
and the prophet will stumble with you by night;
so I will destroy your mother—
My people are destroyed Isa 5:13Pro 19:2Hos 6:62Co 4:3-6Hos 4:1Mat 15:8Pro 1:30-32Isa 17:10
for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you as My priests.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.
The more they multiplied, Hos 13:6Php 3:191Sa 2:30Hos 10:1Hos 4:10Mal 2:9Ezr 9:7Hab 2:16
the more they sinned against Me;
they exchanged their Glory 2
for a thing of disgrace.
They feed on the sins 3of My people Isa 56:11Mic 3:11Tit 1:111Sa 2:29Lev 6:26Lev 7:6-7Mal 1:10Psa 24:4
and set their hearts on iniquity.
And it shall be Jer 5:31Isa 24:2Mat 15:14Hos 1:4Jer 23:11-12Ezk 22:26-31Hos 8:13Hos 9:9
like people, like priest.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
They will eat but not be satisfied; Mic 6:14Hag 1:6Lev 26:26Pro 13:25Psa 125:5Psa 36:3Zep 1:62Ch 24:17
they will be promiscuous but not multiply.
For they have stopped obeying the LORD.
Promiscuity, wine, and new wine Pro 20:1Luk 21:34Isa 28:7Ecc 7:7Hos 4:12Isa 5:12Pro 23:27-35Pro 6:32
take away understanding.
My people consult their wooden idols, Jer 2:27Hos 5:4Hab 2:19Deu 31:16Isa 44:18-20Num 15:392Ch 21:132Th 2:9-11
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray
and they have played the harlot against their God.
They sacrifice on the mountaintops Jer 3:6Ezk 6:13Isa 1:29Amo 7:172Sa 12:10-12Ezk 16:16Ezk 16:25Ezk 20:28-29
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters turn to prostitution
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
I will not punish your daughters 1Co 6:16Eph 4:18Hos 4:11Ki 14:23-241Ki 15:122Ki 23:7Dan 12:10Deu 23:17
when they prostitute themselves,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery.
For the men themselves go off with prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes.
So a people without understanding
will come to ruin.
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, Hos 12:11Hos 9:15Amo 4:4Amo 5:5Amo 8:14Eph 5:11Hos 10:5Hos 10:8
may Judah avoid such guilt!
Do not journey to Gilgal,
do not go up to Beth-aven, 4
and do not swear on oath,
‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
For Israel is as obstinate 1Sa 15:11Hos 11:7Isa 22:18Isa 5:17Isa 7:21-25Jer 14:7Jer 3:11Jer 3:6
as a stubborn heifer.
Can the LORD now shepherd them
like lambs in an open meadow?
Ephraim 5is joined to idols; Psa 81:12Rev 22:11Hos 11:2Hos 13:2Hos 4:4Mat 15:14Hos 12:1
leave him alone!
When their liquor is gone, Mic 3:11Pro 30:15-161Sa 12:3-41Sa 8:32Ki 17:7-17Amo 5:12Deu 16:19Deu 32:32-33
they turn to prostitution;
their rulers 6dearly love disgrace.
The whirlwind has wrapped them 7in its wings, Jer 51:1Hos 13:15Isa 1:29Jer 4:11-12Hos 10:6Hos 12:1Isa 42:17Jer 17:13
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.