Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars.
Since Gilead is full of evil, they will certainly come to nothing. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; even their altars will be like piles of rocks on the furrows of a field.
But where are your gods you made for yourself? Let them rise up and save you in your time of disaster if they can, for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
‘Do not make worthless idols for yourselves, set up a carved image or sacred pillar for yourselves, or place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God.
From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way.
Now they continue to sin and make themselves a cast image, idols skilfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say about them, ‘Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.’
But Ephraim thinks, ‘How rich I have become; I made it all myself. In all my earnings, no one can find any iniquity in me that I can be punished for! ’
They have installed kings, but not through me. They have appointed leaders, but without my approval. They make their silver and gold into idols for themselves for their own destruction.
She does not recognise that it is I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil. I lavished silver and gold on her, which they used for Baal.
Although he flourishes among his brothers, , an east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. His water source will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder the treasury of every precious item.
Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah, and the altars you have set up to Shame , #– #altars to burn incense to Baal #– #as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.
‘The Lord of Armies who planted you has decreed disaster against you, because of the disaster the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves when they angered me by burning incense to Baal.’