The ox knows(A) its master,
    the donkey its owner’s manger,(B)
but Israel does not know,(C)
    my people do not understand.(D)

Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,(E)
a brood of evildoers,(F)
    children given to corruption!(G)
They have forsaken(H) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One(I) of Israel
    and turned their backs(J) on him.

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The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

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Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(A)
    they refuse to return.(B)
I have listened(C) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(D) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(E)
    like a horse charging into battle.
Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know(F)
    the requirements of the Lord.

“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law(G) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
The wise(H) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed(I) and trapped.(J)
Since they have rejected the word(K) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom(L) do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.(M)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;(N)
prophets(O) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(P)

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Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

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