Study Desk

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.'

For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine and oil, who lavished her with silver and gold-which was crafted for Baal.

I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot," declares the LORD.

For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.

On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and weapons of war in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethek of barley.

Then I said to her, "You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you."

For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.

Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

My people are destroyed 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, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.

And it shall be 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; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.

My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.

I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with cult prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.

For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?

Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For the judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.

Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.