The Lord says, “My people are foolish. They do not know me. They are stupid children; they don’t understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
The limbs will become dry and break off, so women will use them for firewood. The people refuse to understand, so God will not comfort them; their Maker will not be kind to them.
Can a person from Cush change the color of his skin? Can a leopard change his spots? In the same way, Jerusalem, you cannot change and do good, because you are accustomed to doing evil.
The priests didn’t ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The people who know the teachings didn’t know me. The leaders turned against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.
I wish I had a place in the desert— a house where travelers spend the night— so I could leave my people. I could go away from them, because they are all unfaithful to God; they are all turning against him.
“They use their tongues like a bow, shooting lies from their mouths like arrows. Lies, not truth, have grown strong in the land. They go from one evil thing to another. They do not know who I am,” says the Lord.
People of Israel, listen to the Lord’s message. The Lord has this against you who live in the land: “The people are not true, not loyal to God, nor do those who live in the land even know him.
My people will be destroyed, because they have no knowledge. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests to me. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.
How terrible it will be for people who plan wickedness, who lie on their beds and make evil plans. When the morning light comes, they do what they planned, because they have the power to do so.
With both hands they are doing evil. Rulers ask for money, and judges’ decisions are bought for a price. Rich people tell what they want, and they get it.
People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking and to do things they should not do.