The Lord said:
1 Listen, you priests!
Pay attention, Israel!
Listen, you members
of the royal family.
Justice was your duty.
But at Mizpah and Mount Tabor
you trapped the people.
2 At the place of worship
you were a treacherous pit,
and I will punish you.
3 Israel, I know all about you,
and because of your unfaithfulness,
I find you unacceptable.
4 Your evil deeds are the reason
you won’t return to me,
your Lord God.
And your constant craving for sex
keeps you from knowing me.
5 Israel, your pride
testifies to your guilt;
it makes you stumble,
and Judah stumbles too.
6 You offer sheep and cattle
as sacrifices to me,
but I have turned away
and refuse to be found.
7 You have been unfaithful
to me, your Lord;
you have had children
by prostitutes.
So at the New Moon Festival,
you and your crops
will be destroyed.
8 Give a warning on the trumpet!
Let it be heard in Gibeah,
Ramah, and sinful
Bethel.
Benjamin, watch out!
9 I, the Lord, will punish
and wipe out Israel.
This is my solemn promise
to every tribe
of Israel.
10 Judah’s leaders are like crooks
who move boundary
markers;
that’s why I will flood them
with my anger.
11 Israel was brutally crushed.
They got what they deserved
for worshiping
useless idols.
12 Now I, the Lord,
will fill Israel with maggots
and make Judah
rot.
13 When Israel and Judah saw
their sickness
and wounds,
Israel asked help from Assyria
and its mighty
king.
But the king cannot cure them
or heal their
wounds.
14 So I’ll become a fierce lion
attacking Israel
and Judah.
I’ll snatch and carry off
what I want,
and no one can
stop me.
15 Then I’ll return to my temple
until they confess their guilt
and worship me,
until they are desperate
and beg for my
help.
The Contemporary English Version, c1995 by the American Bible
Society.
Selected texts provided for use with the Hypertext Bible Commentary