My people are destroyed because they do not know me.“ You priests have refused to obey me. So I will refuse to accept you as my priests. You have not paid any attention to my law. So I will not let your children be my priests.

我的民因无知识而灭亡。你弃掉知识，我也必弃掉你，使你不再给我作祭司。你既忘了你神的律法，我也必忘记你的儿女。

我的百姓因无知识而灭亡。你抛弃知识，我也必抛弃你，使你不再作我的祭司。你既忘了你上帝的律法，我也必忘记你的儿女。

我的百姓因无知识而灭亡。你抛弃知识，我也必抛弃你，使你不再作我的祭司。你既忘了你神的律法，我也必忘记你的儿女。

我的子民因不认识我而遭毁灭。因为你们拒绝认识我，我也要拒绝让你们做我的祭司；因为你们忘记我的律法，我也要忘记你们的儿女。

我的子民因无知识而灭亡；因为你拒绝了知识，我必拒绝你，不让你作我的祭司；因为你忘掉了你神的律法，我也必忘记你的子孙。

我的民因無知識而滅亡。你棄掉知識，我也必棄掉你，使你不再給我作祭司。你既忘了你神的律法，我也必忘記你的兒女。

我的百姓因無知識而滅亡。你拋棄知識，我也必拋棄你，使你不再作我的祭司。你既忘了你上帝的律法，我也必忘記你的兒女。

我的百姓因無知識而滅亡。你拋棄知識，我也必拋棄你，使你不再作我的祭司。你既忘了你神的律法，我也必忘記你的兒女。

我的子民因不認識我而遭毀滅。因為你們拒絕認識我，我也要拒絕讓你們做我的祭司；因為你們忘記我的律法，我也要忘記你們的兒女。

我的子民因無知識而滅亡；因為你拒絕了知識，我必拒絕你，不讓你作我的祭司；因為你忘掉了你神的律法，我也必忘記你的子孫。

我的人民因無知識而被毁滅；你、你既棄絕了知識，我也必棄絕你、不讓你做我的祭司。你既忘了你的上帝的禮節規矩，我、我也必忘了你的兒女。

我民緣無知而見滅、爾棄知識、我亦棄爾、不容為我祭司、爾忘爾上帝法律、我亦忘爾子、

民不知道、以至滅亡、惟爾祭司、厭棄真理、故我棄爾、不為祭司、爾既忘我法度、我不佑爾後人、

我民因無知滅亡、惟爾為祭司者、厭棄知識、故我厭棄爾、不容爾於我前為祭司、爾既忘爾天主之律法、我亦必忘爾之子女、

my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.“ Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

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

My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

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.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God’s law, I will also forget your children.

So my people will be taken away as prisoners. That’s because they don’t understand what the Lord has done. Their nobles will die of hunger. The rest of the people won’t have any water to drink.

Getting excited about something without knowledge isn’t good. It’s even worse to be in a hurry and miss the way.

People of Israel, listen to the Lord’ s message. He is bringing charges against you who live in Israel. He says,“ There is no faithfulness or love in the land. No one recognizes me as God.

Suppose our good news is covered with a veil. Then it is veiled to those who are dying.The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. Christ is the likeness of God.The message we preach is not about ourselves. Our message is about Jesus Christ. We say that he is Lord. And we say that we serve you because of Jesus.God said,“ Let light shine out of darkness.”( Genesis 1:3) He made his light shine in our hearts. His light gives us the light to know God’s glory. His glory is shown in the face of Christ.

You wouldn’t accept my advice. You turned your backs on my warnings.So you will eat the fruit of the way you have lived. You will choke on the fruit of what you have planned.“ The wrong path that childish people take will kill them. Foolish people will be destroyed by being satisfied with the way they live.

I want mercy and not sacrifice. I want you to recognize me as God instead of bringing me burnt offerings.

Israel, you have forgotten God, who saves you. You have not remembered the Rock, who keeps you safe. You might set out the finest plants. You might plant vines from other lands.

The priests did not ask,‘ Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my law did not know me. The leaders refused to obey me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal. They worshiped worthless statues of gods.

I fed them until they were satisfied. Then they became proud. They forgot all about me.

Israel has forgotten the God who made them. They have built palaces for themselves. Judah has built forts in many towns. But I will send down fire on their cities. It will burn up their forts.”

“ The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. After all, he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all. And people seek instruction from his mouth.But you have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has caused many people to trip and fall. You have broken my covenant with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all.“ So I have caused all the people to hate you. They have lost respect for you. You have not done what I told you to do. Instead, you have favored one person over another in matters of the law.”

For a long time Israel didn’t worship the true God. They didn’t have a priest who taught them. So they didn’t know God’s law.

At that time I will do everything to Eli and his family that I said I would. I will finish what I have started.I told Eli I would punish his family forever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them.So I made a promise to the family of Eli. I said,‘ The sins of Eli’s family will never be paid for by bringing sacrifices or offerings.’ ”Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’ s house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision he had received.

Storks know when to fly south. So do doves, swifts and thrushes. But my people do not know what I require them to do.“‘ “How can you people say,‘ We are wise. We have the law of the Lord’? Actually, the teachers of the law have told lies about it. Their pens have not written what is true.Those who think they are wise will be put to shame. They will become terrified. They will be trapped. They have not accepted my message. So what kind of wisdom do they have?

The ox knows its master. The donkey knows where its owner feeds it. But Israel does not know me. My people do not understand me.”

They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They made two statues of gods for themselves. The statues were shaped like calves. They made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. They bowed down to all the stars. And they worshiped the god named Baal.They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave up following God’s rules. They did only what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. All these things made him very angry.So the Lord was very angry with Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left.And even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.So the Lord turned his back on all the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.

“ Now I am giving this warning to you priests.Listen to it. Honor me with all your heart,” says the Lord who rules over all.“ If you do not, I will send a curse on you. I will turn your blessings into curses. In fact, I have already done that because you have not honored me with all your heart.“ Because of what you have done, I will punish your children. I will smear the waste from your sacrifices on your faces. And you will be carried off to the dump along with it.

My anger is wearing me out, because my enemies don’t pay any attention to your words.

“‘ These people honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me.

In my law I wrote down many things for their good. But they considered those things as something strange.

My people ask a wooden statue of a god for advice. They get answers from a stick of wood. They are as unfaithful as prostitutes. They are not faithful to their God.

At that time, I chose Aaron from your family line to be my priest. I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel. I told him to go up to my altar. I told him to burn incense. I chose him to wear a linen apron when he served me. I also gave his family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.Why don’t you treat my sacrifices and offerings with respect? I require them to be brought to the house where I live. Why do you honor your sons more than me? Why do you fatten yourselves on the best parts of every offering that is made by my people Israel?’“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He announced,‘ I promised that members of your family line would serve me as priests forever.’ But now the Lord announces,‘ I will not let that happen! I will honor those who honor me. But I will turn away from those who look down on me.The time is coming when I will cut your life short. I will also cut short the lives of those in your family line of priests. No one in your family line will grow old.You will see nothing but trouble in the house where I live. Good things will still happen to Israel. But no one in your family line will ever grow old.I will prevent the members of your family from serving me at my altar. I will destroy the eyesight of all of you I allow to live. I will also cause you to lose your strength. And everyone in your family line will die while they are still young.“‘ Something is going to happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. When it does, it will show you that what I am saying is true. They will both die on the same day.I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what my heart and mind want him to do. I will make his family line of priests very secure. They will always serve as priests to my anointed king.Everyone left in your family line will come and bow down to him. They will beg him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread. They will say,“ Please give me a place to serve among the priests. Then I can have food to eat.” ’ ”

Eli’s sons were good for nothing. They didn’t honor the Lord.

He will come and kill them. He will give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said,“ We hope this never happens!”Jesus looked right at them and said,“ Here is something I want you to explain the meaning of. It is written,“‘ The stone the builders didn’t accept has become the most important stone of all.’( Psalm 118:22)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”

When their twigs are dry, they will be broken off. Then women will come and make fires with them. The people of Jacob don’t understand the Lord. So the God who made them won’t be concerned about them. Their Creator won’t be kind to them.

Israel’s prophets are blind. They don’t know the Lord. All of them are like watchdogs that can’t even bark. They just lie around and dream. They love to sleep.They are like dogs that love to eat. They never get enough. They are like shepherds who don’t have any understanding. All of them do as they please. They only look for what they can get for themselves.“ Come!” they shout.“ Let’s get some wine! Let’s drink all the beer we can! Tomorrow we’ll do the same thing. And that will be even better than today.”

Israel burned incense to the gods that were named Baal. I will punish her for all the times she did that. She decorated herself with rings and jewelry. Then she went after her lovers. But she forgot all about me,” declares the Lord.

So they took him and killed him. They threw him out of the vineyard.“ What will the owner of the vineyard do then? He will come and kill those renters. He will give the vineyard to others.

Those who are young treat my people badly. Women rule over them. My people, your leaders have taken you down the wrong path. They have turned you away from the right path.

But if they don’t listen to him, they’ll be killed by swords. They’ll die because they didn’t want to know anything about him.

Evil people may tie me up with ropes. But I won’t forget to obey your law.

Lord, don’t your eyes look for truth? You struck down your people. But they didn’t feel any pain. You crushed them. But they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to turn away from their sins.I thought,“ The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don’t know how the Lord wants them to live. They don’t know what their God requires of them.

Leave the Pharisees. They are blind guides. If one blind person leads another blind person, both of them will fall into a pit.”

The Lord says,“ My people are foolish. They do not know me. They are children who do not have any sense. They have no understanding at all. They are skilled in doing what is evil. They do not know how to do what is good.”

In one month I got rid of three worthless shepherds. The sheep hated me, and I got tired of them.So I said,“ I won’t be your shepherd anymore. Let those of you who are dying die. Let those who are passing away pass away. Let those who are left eat one another up.”

The Lord said to me,“ Now pretend to be a foolish shepherd. Get the things you need.I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land. He will not take care of those that are wounded. He will not look for the young ones. He will not heal those that are hurt. He will not feed the healthy ones. Instead, he will eat the best sheep. He will even tear their hooves off.“ How terrible it will be for that worthless shepherd! He deserts the flock. May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his powerful arm become weak! May his right eye be totally blinded!”

“ He will destroy those evil people,” they replied.“ Then he will rent the vineyard out to other renters. They will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”Jesus said to them,“ Haven’t you ever read what the Scriptures say,“‘ The stone the builders didn’t accept has become the most important stone of all. The Lord has done it. It is wonderful in our eyes’?( Psalm 118:22, 23)“ So here is what I tell you. The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who will produce its fruit.Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories. They knew he was talking about them.

‘ Listen to this, you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.

The Lord said to me,“ Put a trumpet to your lips! Give a warning to my people! Assyria is like an eagle. It is ready to attack my land. My people have broken the covenant I made with them. They have refused to obey my law.

Jesus replied,“ And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings!God said,‘ Honor your father and mother.’( Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said,‘ Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’( Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9)But suppose people have something that might be used to help their parents. You allow them to say it is instead‘ a gift set apart for God.’So they do not need to honor their father or mother with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings.

“ Come together, you people of the nations who escaped from Babylon. Gather together and come into court. Only people who do not know anything would carry around gods that are made out of wood. They pray to false gods that can’t save them.

And Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. Solomon’s mother had been Uriah’s wife.

“ How terrible for you, blind guides! You say,‘ If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy?You also say,‘ If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy?So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it.And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it.And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.“ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!“ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves.Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.

Israel’s leaders are drunk from wine. They can’t walk straight. They are drunk from beer. They are unsteady on their feet. Priests and prophets drink beer. They can’t walk straight. They are mixed up from drinking too much wine. They drink too much beer. They are unsteady on their feet. The prophets see visions but don’t really understand them. The priests aren’t able to make good decisions.