Yahweh’s accusation against Israel

4 You Israeli people, listen to this message from Yahweh!

He is accusing you people who live in this country,

saying “The people are not faithfully doing what pleases me,

they are not kind to others,

and they do not even know me!

2 Everywhere in this land they curse others, they murder others, they steal, and they commit adultery.

They act violently toward others

and commit one murder after another.

3 It is because of their doing those things that there is no rain [MTY], the land has become dry,

the people are mourning,

and the people are dying from hunger.

Even the wild animals and the birds and the fish in the sea are dying.

4 But no one should accuse someone else

and say it is his fault.

It is you priests whom I am accusing.

5 So I will punish [MTY] you priests, night and day,

and I will punish the prophets with you.

I am going to destroy Israel, the nation that is like [MET] a mother to you.

6 It is because my people do not know about me that they will be destroyed.

And their not knowing about me is because you priests have refused to teach them about me;

so I will no longer allow you to be my priests.

You have forgotten the things that I taught you,

so I will forget to bless your children.

7 As there are more and more priests,

they have sinned against me more and more.

So I will no longer allow them to be honored;

instead, I will cause them to be disgraced.

8 The priests get food from the offerings that the people bring in order to be forgiven for having sinned,

so the priests want the people to sin more and more

in order that the people will bring them more and more offerings.

9 The priests are as sinful as the other people,

and I will punish all of them for what they have done;

I will pay them back for the evil things that they have done.

10 The priests will eat, but they will still be hungry;

they will have sex with prostitutes, but they will not have any children,

because they have abandoned me, Yahweh,

11 and they are devoting themselves to sleeping with prostitutes,

and to drinking old wine and new wine,

which results in their not being able to think clearly.”