[1] The LORD said: Listen, you priests! Pay attention, Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family. Justice was your duty. But at Mizpah and Mount Tabor you trapped the people. [2] At the place of worship you were a treacherous pit, and I will punish you. [3] Israel, I know all about you, and because of your unfaithfulness, I find you unacceptable. [4] Your evil deeds are the reason you won't return to me, your LORD God. And your constant craving for sex keeps you from knowing me. [5] Israel, your pride testifies to your guilt; it makes you stumble, and Judah stumbles too. [6] You offer sheep and cattle as sacrifices to me, but I have turned away and refuse to be found. [7] You have been unfaithful to me, your LORD; you have had children by prostitutes. So at the New Moon Festival, you and your crops will be destroyed. [8] Give a warning on the trumpet! Let it be heard in Gibeah, Ramah, and sinful Bethel. Benjamin, watch out! [9] I, the LORD, will punish and wipe out Israel. This is my solemn promise to every tribe of Israel. [10] Judah's leaders are like crooks who move boundary markers; that's why I will flood them with my anger. [11] Israel was brutally crushed. They got what they deserved for worshiping useless idols. [12] Now I, the LORD, will fill Israel with maggots and make Judah rot. [13] When Israel and Judah saw their sickness and wounds, Israel asked help from Assyria and its mighty king. But the king cannot cure them or heal their wounds. [14] So I'll become a fierce lion attacking Israel and Judah. I'll snatch and carry off what I want, and no one can stop me. [15] Then I'll return to my temple until they confess their guilt and worship me, until they are desperate and beg for my help.
