Thussaysthe LORD,"For threetransgressionsof Judahand for fourI will not revokeits [punishment], Becausethey rejectedthe lawof the LORDAnd have not keptHis statutes;Their liesalso have ledthem astray,Those afterwhichtheir fatherswalked.
AlsoJudahdid not keepthe commandmentsof the LORDtheir God,but walkedin the customswhichIsraelhad introduced.
Now afterAmaziahcamefrom slaughteringthe Edomites,he broughtthe godsof the sonsof Seir,setthem up as his gods,boweddownbeforethem and burnedincenseto them.
"Do not be like your fathersand your brothers,whowere unfaithfulto the LORDGodof their fathers,so that He madethem a horror,as you see.
"We have actedverycorruptlyagainst You and have not keptthe commandments,northe statutes,northe ordinanceswhichYou commandedYour servantMoses.
"But they becamedisobedientand rebelledagainst You, And castYour lawbehindtheir backsAnd killedYour prophetswhohad admonishedthem So that they might returnto You, And they committedgreatblasphemies.
Becauseyou have said,"We have madea covenantwith death,And with Sheolwe have madea pact.The overwhelmingscourgewill not reachus whenit passesby, For we have madefalsehoodour refugeand we have concealedourselves with deception."
He feedson ashes;a deceivedhearthas turnedhim aside.And he cannotdeliverhimself,norsay,"Is there not a liein my righthand?"
"Then you are to sayto them, '[It is] becauseyour forefathershave forsakenMe,' declaresthe LORD,'and have followedothergodsand servedthem and boweddownto them; but Me they have forsakenand have not keptMy law.
You too have doneevil,[even] morethanyour forefathers;for behold,you are eachonewalkingaccordingto the stubbornnessof his own evilheart,withoutlisteningto Me.
"But ifyou do not listento Me to keepthe sabbathdayholyby not carryinga loadand comingin through the gatesof Jerusalemon the sabbathday,then I will kindlea firein its gatesand it will devourthe palacesof Jerusalemand not be quenched."'"
"Hear,O earth:behold,I am bringingdisasteron thispeople,The fruitof their plans,Becausethey have not listenedto My words,And as for My law,they have rejectedit also.
"They will spreadthem out to the sun,the moonand to allthe hostof heaven,whichthey have lovedand whichthey have served,and whichthey have goneafterand whichthey have sought,and whichthey have worshiped.They will not be gatheredor buried;they will be as dungon the faceof the ground.
"The wisemenare putto shame,They are dismayedand caught;Behold,they have rejectedthe wordof the LORD,And whatkind of wisdomdo they have?
but have walkedafterthe stubbornnessof their heartand afterthe Baals,as their fatherstaughtthem,"
"Becauseyou disheartenedthe righteouswith falsehoodwhen I did not causehim grief,but have encouragedthe wickednot to turnfrom his wickedway[and] preservehis life,
"But the houseof Israelrebelledagainst Me in the wilderness.They did not walkin My statutesand they rejectedMy ordinances,by which,if a manobservesthem, he will live;and My sabbathsthey greatlyprofaned.Then I resolvedto pourout My wrathon them in the wilderness,to annihilatethem.
becausethey rejectedMy ordinances,and as for My statutes,they did not walkin them; they even profanedMy sabbaths,for their heartcontinually wentaftertheir idols.
"I saidto their childrenin the wilderness,Do not walkin the statutesof your fathersor keeptheir ordinancesor defileyourselves with their idols.
becausethey had not observedMy ordinances,but had rejectedMy statutesand had profanedMy sabbaths,and their eyeswere on the idolsof their fathers.
"Therefore,sayto the houseof Israel,'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Will you defileyourselves after the mannerof your fathersand playthe harlotaftertheir detestablethings?
"Her prophetshave smearedwhitewashfor them, seeingfalse~visionsand diviningliesfor them, saying,'Thussaysthe LordGOD,'when the LORDhas not spoken.
"You have despisedMy holythingsand profanedMy sabbaths.
The LORDalso has a disputewith Judah,And will punishJacobaccording to his ways;He will repayhim according to his deeds.
In the wombhe tookhis brotherby the heel,And in his maturityhe contendedwith God.
Also,O Judah,there is a harvestappointed for you, When I restorethe fortunesof My people.
Thussaysthe LORD,"For threetransgressionsof Damascusand for fourI will not revokeits [punishment], Becausethey threshedGileadwith [implements] of sharpiron.
"You onlyhave I chosenamongallthe familiesof the earth;ThereforeI will punishyou for allyour iniquities."
"For the richmenof [the] city are fullof violence,Her residentsspeaklies,And their tongueis deceitfulin their mouth.
"Whatprofitis the idolwhenits makerhas carvedit, [Or] an image,a teacherof falsehood?For [its] makertrustsin his [own] handiworkWhen he fashionsspeechlessidols.
For they exchangedthe truthof Godfor a lie,and worshipedand servedthe creaturerather thanthe Creator,whois blessedforever.Amen.
So,he who rejects[this] is not rejectingmanbut the Godwho givesHis HolySpiritto you.
knowingthat you were not redeemedwith perishable thingslike silverorgoldfrom your futileway of lifeinherited from your forefathers,
Then the sonsof Israelagaindidevilin the sightof the LORD,servedthe Baalsand the Ashtaroth,the godsof Aram,the godsof Sidon,the godsof Moab,the godsof the sonsof Ammon,and the godsof the Philistines;thus they forsookthe LORDand did not serveHim.
