4 ^(A)Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for ^(B)the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and ^(C)no knowledge of God in the land;

⁶ My people are destroyed ^(A)for lack of knowledge;
    ^(B)because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you ^(C)from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    ^(D)I also will forget your children.

^3 (A)Let us know; ^(B)let us press on to know the Lord;
    ^(C)his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us ^(D)as the showers,
    ^(E)as the spring rains that water the earth.”