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^1 (a)Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for ^(b)the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and ^(c)no knowledge of God in the land;
^2 (d)there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and ^(e)bloodshed follows bloodshed.
³ Therefore ^(f)the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
^(g)and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    ^(h)and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

^4 (i)Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is ^(j)my contention, O priest.^[a]
5 You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy ^(k)your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed ^(l)for lack of knowledge;
    ^(m)because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you ⁽ⁿ⁾from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    ^(o)I also will forget your children.

^7 (p)The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    ^(q)I will change their glory into shame.
^8 (r)They feed on the sin^[b] of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
^9 (s)And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
^10 (t)They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish ¹¹ whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which ^(u)take away the understanding.
¹² My people ^(v)inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For ^(w)a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
^13 (x)They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
^(y)under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for ^(z)the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with ^(aa)cult prostitutes,
and a people ^(ab)without understanding shall come to ruin.

¹⁵ Though you play the whore, O ^(ac)Israel,
    let not ^(ad)Judah become guilty.
^(ae)Enter not into ^(af)Gilgal,
    nor go up to ^(ag)Beth-aven,
    and swear not, "As the Lord lives."
¹⁶ Like a stubborn heifer,
    Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

^17 (ah)Ephraim is joined to idols;
    ^(ai)leave him alone.
¹⁸ When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
    ^(aj)their rulers^[c] dearly love shame.
^19 (ak)A wind has wrapped them^[d] in its wings,
    and they shall ^(al)be ashamed because of their sacrifices.