A complaint against the people, and the Priests of Israél.
1.Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israél: for the Lord ahath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the land.
2.By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and whoring they break out, and bblood toucheth blood.
3.Therefore shal the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein, shal be cut off, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heaven, and also the fishes of the sea shal be taken away.
4.Yet clet none rebuke, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that rebuke the Priest.
5.Therefore shalt thou fall in the dday, and the Prophet shal fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy emother.
6.My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because fthou hast refused knowledge, I will also refuse thee, that thou shalt be no Priest to me: and seeing gthou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7.As they were hincreased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glorie into shame.
8.iThey eat up the sins of my people, and lift up their minds in their iniquity.
9.And there shalbe like people, like kPriest: for I will visit their ways upon them, and reward them their deeds.
10.For they shal eat, and not have enough: they shal lcommit adultery, and shal not increase, because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.
11.mWhoredom, and wine, and new wine take away their heart.
12.My npeople ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff teacheth them: for the ospirit of fornications hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13.They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills under the oaks, and the poplar tree, and the elm, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shalbe pharlots, and your spouses shalbe whores.
14.I will not pvisit your daughters when they are harlots, nor your spouses when they are whores: for they them selves are separated with harlots, and sacrifice with whores: therefore the people that doeth not understand, shal fall.
15.Though thou, Israél, play the harlot, yet rlet not Judáh sin: come not ye unto sGilgál, neither go ye up to tBeth-áven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
16.For Israél is rebellious as an unruly heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a ulamb in a large place.
17.Ephráim is joined to idols: let his alone.
18.Their drunkenness stinketh: they have committed whoredom: their rulers love to say with shame, xBring ye.
19.The wind hath ybound them up in her wings, and they shalbe ashamed of their sacrifices.
Because the people would not obey the admonitions of the Prophet, he cites them before the judgement seat of God, against whom they chiefly offended, Is. 7.13, Zech. 12.10.
As though he would say, that it were in vain to rebuke them, for no man can abide it: yea, they will speak against the Prophets and Priests whose office it is chiefly to rebuke them.
That is, the Priests shall be cast off because, that for lack of knowledge, they are not able to execute their charge, and instruct others, Deu. 33.3, Mal. 2.7.
Showing, that their wickedness shall be punished on all sorts for though they think by the multitude of wives to have many children, yet they shall be deceived of their hope.
Because they take away God’s honour, and give it to idols, therefore he will give them up to their lusts, that they shall dishonour their own bodies, Rom. 1.28.
For albeit the Lord had honoured this place in time past by his presence, yet because it was abused by their idolatry, he would not that his people should resort thether.
He calls Beth-el, that is, the house of God, Beth-aven, that it, the house of iniquity, because of their abominations set up there, signifying, that not place is holy where God is not purely worshipped.