I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.
Oxen know their owners, and donkeys know where their masters feed them. But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟. My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
You have forgotten the God of your salvation. You haven’t remembered the rock, your stronghold. Instead, you have planted the best plants and have set out the imported grapevines.
When the branches are dried up, they will be broken off. Women will come and build a fire with them. These people don’t understand ⌞these things⌟. That is why their maker won’t have compassion on them, and their Creator won’t have pity on them.
Priests and prophets stagger from wine and wobble from too much liquor. They stagger from too much liquor and become confused from too much wine. They wobble because of their liquor. They stagger when they see visions. They swerve as they judge.
The priests didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord?” Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed statues that couldn’t help them.
“My people are fools. They don’t know me. They are stupid people. They don’t understand. They are experts in doing wrong, and they don’t know how to do good.”
They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.
I will punish her for all the times she burned incense as an offering to other gods—the Baals. She put on her rings and jewelry, and she chased after her lovers. She forgot me,” declares the Lord.
Listen to the Lord’s word, you Israelites. The Lord has brought these charges against those who live in the land: “There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
My people ask their wooden idols for help. A piece of wood tells them what to do. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They commit adultery by giving themselves to other gods.
Yet, I will not punish your daughters when they become prostitutes or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. The men go to prostitutes and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes. These foolish people will be trampled.
“Sound the alarm on the ram’s horn. The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s temple like an eagle. The people of Israel have rejected my promise and rebelled against my teachings.
The people of Israel have built palaces, and they have forgotten their maker. The people of Judah have built many fortified cities. I will send a fire on their cities and burn down their palaces.”