3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;you were my sacred possession.I sent suffering and disasteron everyone who hurt you.I, the Lord, have spoken.”
4 Listen to the Lord's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel.
5 The Lord says:“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?What made them turn away from me?They worshipped worthless idolsand became worthless themselves.
6 They did not care about me,even though I rescued them from Egyptand led them through the wilderness:a land of deserts and sand dunes,a dry and dangerous landwhere no one livesand no one will even travel.
7 I brought them into a fertile land,to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.But instead they ruined my land;they defiled the country I had given them.
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’My own priests did not know me.The rulers rebelled against me;the prophets spoke in the name of Baaland worshipped useless idols.
9 “And so I, the Lord, will state my case against my people again.I will bring charges against their descendants.