“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
² By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed ^[b]upon bloodshed.
³ Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

⁴ “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
⁵ Therefore you shall stumble in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

⁷ “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I^[c] will change ^[d]their glory into shame.