Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more abundant his fruit, The more altars he abounded; The better his land, The better he made the sacred pillars.
For your gods are the number of your cities, O Judah; and the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.
Yahweh of hosts, who planted you, has spoken forth evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.
“But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time when your evil comes; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.
Is there wickedness in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.
¶Though he is fruitful among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry, And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every desirable article.
And now they sin more and more And make for themselves molten images, Idols made from their silver according to their understanding, All of them the work of craftsmen. They are saying of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
¶“Now she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, And multiplied silver and gold for her, Which they used for Baal.
They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.
‘You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves a graven image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a carved stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am Yahweh your God.
For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob Like the majesty of Israel, Even though those who empty them have emptied them to destruction And ruined their vine branches.
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.