"For bothprophetand priestare polluted;Evenin My houseI have foundtheir wickedness,"declaresthe LORD.
For he builtaltarsfor allthe hostof heavenin the twocourtsof the houseof the LORD.
Then he putthe carvedimageof the idolwhichhe had madein the houseof God,of whichGodhad saidto Davidand to Solomonhis son,"In thishouseand in Jerusalem,whichI have chosenfrom allthe tribesof Israel,I will putMy nameforever;
Furthermore,allthe officialsof the priestsand the peoplewere veryunfaithful[following] allthe abominationsof the nations;and they defiledthe houseof the LORDwhichHe had sanctifiedin Jerusalem.
Amongthe sonsof the priestswhohad marriedforeignwiveswere foundof the sonsof Jeshuathe sonof Jozadak,and his brothers:Maaseiah,Eliezer,Jariband Gedaliah.
"Whatright has My belovedin My houseWhenshe has donemanyviledeeds?Can the sacrificialfleshtakeawayfrom you your disaster,So[that] you can rejoice?"
"Thereforethussaysthe LORDof hostsconcerningthe prophets,'Behold,I am going to feedthem wormwoodAnd make them drinkpoisonouswater,For from the prophetsof JerusalemPollutionhas goneforthinto allthe land.'"
"But they puttheir detestablethingsin the housewhichis calledby My name,to defileit.
The prophetsprophesyfalsely,And the priestsruleon their [own] authority;And My peopleloveit so!But whatwill you doat the endof it?
"My peoplehave becomelostsheep;Their shepherdshave ledthem astray.They have made them turnaside[on] the mountains;They have gonealong from mountainto hillAnd have forgottentheir restingplace.
"For from the leastof them even to the greatestof them, Everyoneis greedyfor gain,And from the propheteven to the priestEveryonedealsfalsely.
"For the sonsof Judahhave donethat whichis evilin My sight,"declaresthe LORD,"they have settheir detestablethingsin the housewhichis calledby My name,to defileit.
"ThereforeI will givetheir wivesto others,Their fieldsto newowners;Becausefrom the leasteven to the greatestEveryoneis greedyfor gain;From the propheteven to the priestEveryonepracticesdeceit.
See,O LORD,and look!With whomhave You dealtthus?Should womeneattheir offspring,The littleoneswhowere bornhealthy?Should priestand prophetbe slainIn the sanctuaryof the Lord?
"For when they had slaughteredtheir childrenfor their idols,they enteredMy sanctuaryon the samedayto profaneit; and lo,thusthey didwithinMy house.
"But the Leviteswhowentfarfrom Me when Israelwentastray,whowentastrayfrom Me aftertheir idols,shall bearthe punishmentfor their iniquity.
They transformedthe beautyof His ornamentsinto pride,and they madethe imagesof their abominations[and] their detestablethingswith it; thereforeI will makeit an abhorrentthingto them.
Standingin frontof them were seventyeldersof the houseof Israel,with Jaazaniahthe sonof Shaphanstandingamongthem, eachmanwith his censerin his handand the fragranceof the cloudof incenserising.
Then He broughtme into the innercourtof the LORD'Shouse.And behold,at the entranceto the templeof the LORD,betweenthe porchand the altar,[were] about twenty-fivemenwith their backsto the templeof the LORDand their facestoward the east;and they were prostratingthemselves eastwardtoward the sun.
Her princeswithinher are roaringlions,Her judgesare wolvesat evening;They leavenothingfor the morning.
Her prophetsare reckless,treacherousmen;Her priestshave profanedthe sanctuary.They have doneviolenceto the law.
