I will go to the distinguished and speak to them. Surely they know the way of Adonai, the ordinance of their God. But they too had broken the yoke and torn off the bonds.
Furthermore, all the leading kohanim and the people became very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. They defiled the House of Adonai, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Your princes are rebellious and friends with thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, nor does a widow’s case come to them.
“Indeed, long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds. You said, ‘I will not serve!’ Instead, on every high hill and under every green tree you sprawled out as a prostitute.
You, generation, heed Adonai’s word! “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam. We won’t come to You any more’?
All your lovers have forgotten you. They are not looking for you. For I wounded you as an enemy— with cruel punishment— because your iniquity is vast, your sins innumerable.
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed times, and the turtledove, swallow and crane observe the time of their migration, but My people do not know the judgments of Adonai.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on Samaria’s hill, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their masters: “Bring, so we may drink.”
Her leaders give judgment for a bribe. Her priests give direction for a price. Her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean on Adonai by saying: “Is not Adonai in our midst? No calamity will come upon us!”