"Your own wickednesswill correctyou, And your apostasieswill reproveyou; Knowtherefore and seethat it is eviland bitterFor you to forsakethe LORDyour God,And the dreadof Me is not in you," declaresthe LordGODof hosts.
He said,"I have not troubledIsrael,but you and your father'shouse[have], because you have forsakenthe commandmentsof the LORDand you have followedthe Baals.
Then Shemaiahthe prophetcameto Rehoboamand the princesof Judahwhohad gatheredat Jerusalembecauseof Shishak,and he saidto them, "Thussaysthe LORD,You have forsakenMe, so I alsohave forsakenyou to Shishak.'"
So EdomrevoltedagainstJudahto thisday.ThenLibnahrevoltedat the sametimeagainsthis rule,becausehe had forsakenthe LORDGodof his fathers.
As he was talkingwith him, the king saidto him, "Have we appointedyou a royalcounselor?Stop!Whyshould you be struckdown?"Then the prophetstoppedand said,"I knowthat Godhas plannedto destroyyou, becauseyou have donethisand have not listenedto my counsel."
Transgressionspeaksto the ungodlywithinhis heart;Thereis nofearof Godbeforehis eyes.
So the sonsof Israelstrippedthemselves of their ornaments,from MountHoreb[onward].
"So they shall eatof the fruitof their own wayAnd be satiatedwith their own devices.
"For the waywardnessof the naivewill killthem, And the complacencyof foolswill destroythem.
His own iniquitieswill capturethe wicked,And he will be heldwith the cordsof his sin.
The expressionof their facesbearswitnessagainst them, And they displaytheir sinlike Sodom;They do not [even] conceal[it]. Woeto them! For they have broughtevilon themselves.
"So nowlet Me tellyou whatI am going to doto My vineyard:I will removeits hedgeand it will be consumed;I will breakdownits walland it will becometrampledground.
Thussaysthe LORD,"Whereis the certificateof divorceBy whichI have sentyour motheraway?Orto whomof My creditorsdid I sellyou? Behold,you were soldfor your iniquities,And for your transgressionsyour motherwas sentaway.
"I will pronounceMy judgmentson them concerningalltheir wickedness,wherebythey have forsakenMe and have offeredsacrificesto othergods,and worshipedthe worksof their own hands.
"Ifyou sayin your heart,Whyhave thesethingshappenedto me?' Because of the magnitudeof your iniquityYour skirtshave been removedAnd your heelshave been exposed.
"Have you not donethisto yourself By your forsakingthe LORDyour GodWhenHe ledyou in the way?
"Return,O faithlesssons,I will healyour faithlessness.""Behold,we cometo You; For You are the LORDour God.
"Your waysand your deedsHave broughtthesethingsto you. Thisis your evil.Howbitter!Howit has touchedyour heart!"
Do you not fearMe?' declaresthe LORD.'Do you not tremblein My presence?For I have placedthe sandas a boundaryfor the sea,An eternaldecree,so it cannotcrossoverit. Though the wavestoss,yet they cannotprevail;Though they roar,yet they cannotcrossoverit.
They do not sayin their heart,"Let us nowfearthe LORDour God,Who givesrainin its season,Both the autumnrainand the springrain,Who keepsfor us The appointedweeksof the harvest."
Thereforea lionfrom the forestwill slaythem, A wolfof the desertswill destroythem, A leopardis watchingtheir cities.Everyonewho goesout of them will be tornin pieces,Becausetheir transgressionsare many,Their apostasiesare numerous.
"Do they spiteMe?" declaresthe LORD."Is it not themselves [they spite], to their ownshame?"
"Whythen has thispeople,Jerusalem,Turnedawayin continualapostasy?They holdfastto deceit,They refuseto return.
Thesethingswill be doneto you because you have playedthe harlotwith the nations,becauseyou have defiledyourself with their idols.
"According to their uncleannessand according to their transgressionsI dealtwith them, and I hidMy facefrom them."'"
So My peopleare benton turningfrom Me. Though they callthem to [the One] on high,Noneat allexalts[Him].
[It is] your destruction,O Israel,That [you are] against Me, against your help.
Return,O Israel,to the LORDyour God,For you have stumbledbecause of your iniquity.
SinceIsraelis stubbornLike a stubbornheifer,Can the LORDnowpasturethem Like a lambin a largefield?
Moreover, the prideof Israeltestifiesagainsthim, And Israeland Ephraimstumblein their iniquity;Judahalsohas stumbledwith them.
And they do not considerin their heartsThat I rememberalltheir wickedness.Nowtheir deedsare allaroundthem; They are beforeMy face.
Do not rejoice,O Israel,with exultationlike the nations!For you have playedthe harlot,forsakingyour God.You have loved[harlots]' earningson everythreshingfloor.
"Then I will turnyour festivalsinto mourningAnd allyour songsinto lamentation;And I will bringsackclothon everyone'sloinsAnd baldnesson everyhead.And I will makeit like [a time of] mourningfor an onlyson,And the endof it will be like a bitterday.
Allthisis for the rebellionof JacobAnd for the sinsof the houseof Israel.Whatis the rebellionof Jacob?Is it not Samaria?Whatis the highplaceof Judah?Is it not Jerusalem?
"But they refusedto payattentionand turneda stubbornshoulderand stoppedtheir earsfrom hearing.
"THERE IS NOFEAROF GODBEFORETHEIR EYES."
"Yet you have forsakenMe and servedothergods;thereforeI will nolongerdeliveryou.
