5. I will go to the greatand will speak to them,for they know the way of the Lord,the justice of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke;they had burst the bonds.
6. Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities;everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,because their transgressions are many,their apostasies are great.
7. “How can I pardon you?Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores.
8. They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
9. Shall I not punish them for these things?declares the Lord;and shall I not avenge myselfon a nation such as this?