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4
1 Hear the Devar Hashem, ye Bnei Yisroel:
for Hashem hath a controversy with the yoshvei ha'aretz,
because there is no emes, nor chesed,
nor da'as Elohim in ha'aretz.*See 11:7-9; 1K 1:18-19
2 By aloh (false swearing, perjury), and kachash (lying), and ratzo'ach (murder),
and ganov (stealing), and na'of (committing adultery) they break away,
and damim b'damim they follow (bloodshed follows bloodshed).
3 Therefore shall ha'aretz mourn,
and every one that dwelleth therein shall waste away languishing,
with the wild beasts of the sadeh, and with the fowls of Shomayim;
yea, the dagim of the yam also shall disappear.
4 Yet let no ish bring a point of contention,
nor reprove another;
for thy people are as they
that strive with the kohen.
5 Therefore shalt thou stumble and fall in the yom,
and the navi also shall stumble and fall with thee in the lailah,
and I will destroy thy em.
6 Ami are destroyed for lack of da'as (knowledge);
because thou hast rejected da'as,
I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no kohen to Me;
seeing thou hast forgotten the torat Eloheicha,
I will also forget thy banim.
7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me;
therefore will I change their kavod into kalon (ignominy, shame).
8 They†i.e., the kohanim feed on the chattat (sin) of Ami,
and they relish their avon (iniquity).
9 And there shall be, like Am (People), like kohen;
and I will visit them with punishment for their ways,
and repay them for their doings.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough;
they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase;
because they have abandoned being shomer to heed Hashem.
11 Zenut (prostitution, whoredom) and yayin and tirosh
take away the lev (understanding).
12 Ami (My people) consult a piece of wood,
and their staff declareth unto them;
for the ruach zenunim hath caused them to err,
and they have played the zonah, forsaking Eloheihem.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,
and burn incense upon the hills,
under oak and poplar and terebinth,
because the shade thereof is tov;
therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom,
and your daughters-in-law shall commit ni'uf (adultery).
14 I will not visit punishment upon your daughters when they commit whoredom,
nor your daughters-in-law when they commit ni'uf (adultery);
because the men consort with zonot,
and they sacrifice with kedeshot (temple prostitutes);
thus the Am without binah (understanding) shall come to ruin.
15 Though thou, Yisroel, play the zonah,
yet let not Yehudah become guilty;
and come not ye unto Gilgal,
neither go ye up to Beit-Aven (House of Iniquity),‡pejorative name for Bethel
nor swear, Chai Hashem(As the L-rd lives).
16 For Yisroel slideth back§i.e., is stubborn, rebellious, unmanageable
like a backsliding parah (stubborn, rebellious cow);
can Hashem now feed them
like a lamb in a wide field?
17 Ephrayim*i.e., the Northern Kingdom, Israel is joined to atzabim (idols);
leave him alone.
18 When their drink is sour,†i.e., when intoxicated
they have committed whoredom;
her mogenim (shields, rulers) deeply love kalon (ignominy, shame).
19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings,
and their zevakhot (sacrifices) shall bring them bushah (shame).

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*4:1 See 11:7-9; 1K 1:18-19

†4:8 i.e., the kohanim

‡4:15 pejorative name for Bethel

§4:16 i.e., is stubborn, rebellious, unmanageable

*4:17 i.e., the Northern Kingdom, Israel

†4:18 i.e., when intoxicated

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