²² My people are fools,
    they do not know me;
They are senseless children,
    without understanding;
They are wise at evil,
    but they do not know how to do good.^(A)

⁷ Why should I pardon you?
    Your children have forsaken me,
    they swear by gods that are no gods.
I fed them, but they commit adultery;
    to the prostitute’s house they throng.
⁸ They are lustful stallions,
    each neighs after the other’s wife.^(A)

² They ready their tongues like a drawn bow;
    with lying, and not with truth,
    they are powerful in the land.
They go from evil to evil,
    and me they do not know—oracle of the Lord.

¹⁰ I will turn Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,
    a haunt of jackals;
The cities of Judah I will make a waste,
    where no one dwells.^(A)