Yahweh’s accusation against the Israeli people

1“Listen, you priests! And you other Israeli people, you also pay attention! And you who are members of the king’s family, you also need to listen, because I am going to judge you! Your worshiping idols has been like [MET] a trap for the people at Mizpah town; it has been like [MET] a net spread out to catch people at Tabor Mountain.

2You have done many evil things, so I will punish all of you.

3I know everything about the people of Israel; nothing that they have done is hidden from me. Because the people of Israel have given themselves to worshiping idols like [MET] prostitutes give themselves to the men they sleep with, they have become unacceptable to me.

4Because they like to do evil things, they will not return to me, their God. Like prostitutes who have abandoned their husbands [MET], they have [IDM] abandoned [MET] me; they do not even know me, Yahweh.

5It is as though their being proud testifies [PRS] against them. The sins that the people of Israel have committed are like a heavy load that causes them to stumble,
and the people of Judah stumble with them.

6They will come to worship me, Yahweh, bringing their herds of sheep and cattle, but they will not be able to find me, because I have abandoned them.

7They have abandoned me; and their children do not belong to me [MET]. So they will not be able to celebrate their festivals at the new moons because I will destroy them and the crops in their fields.

8Blow the rams’ horns in Gibeah town and blow the trumpets in Ramah town! Warn the people at Beth-Aven town; you warriors of the tribe of Benjamin, lead the troops into the battle.

9Israel will be ruined on the day that I destroy them. What I am telling to the tribes of Israel will certainly happen.

10Because the leaders of Judah seized some land that belonged to Israel, they are like [SIM] those who move boundary markers to get more land for themselves; so I will punish them severely [MET].

11And the people of Israel will suffer greatly when I punish them, because they are very determined to worship idols.

12I will destroy the people of Israel like [SIM] ◄larvae of moths/cockroaches► destroy wool, and I will cause the people of Judah to be like [SIM] rotten wood.

13When the leaders of Israel and Judah saw that the people were suffering because of what their enemies were doing to them [MET], they sent messages to the great King of Assyria requesting his help. But he cannot help you; he cannot cause you to stop suffering,
because I am the one who is punishing Israel and Judah.

14I will become like [SIM] a lion [DOU] to both nations; I will attack them and tear them to pieces. I will drag them away, and no one will be able to rescue them.

15After that, I will return to my place in heaven until they admit that they have sinned [MTY] and return to me; when they will experience many troubles, they will request me to help them.”