10 They will eat but not be satisfied;(A)
they will be promiscuous(B) but not multiply.
For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.(C)
11 Promiscuity,(D) wine, and new wine
take away one’s understanding.(E)

12 My people consult their wooden idols,(F)
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;(G)
they act promiscuously(H)
in disobedience to[a] their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,(I)
and they burn offerings on the hills,(J)
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,(K)
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes(L)
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.(M)
People without discernment are doomed.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:12 Lit promiscuously from under

10 (A)They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which (B)take away the understanding.
12 My people (C)inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For (D)a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 (E)They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
(F)under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for (G)the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with (H)cult prostitutes,
and a people (I)without understanding shall come to ruin.

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