"The more they increased in number, the more they sinned against me, so I will change their glory into shame.

For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

"The more altars Ephraim builds for sin, the more altars there will be for sin.

"Israel, the overgrown vine, bears fruit like itself; the more fruitful they become, the more altars they build. The better the land, the more ornate the stone idols.

The more I called out to them, the farther they fled from me; they sacrificed to Baals, burning incense to carved images.

but now they are sinning more and more, crafting idols from melted silver. Their idols are made with the most exacting skill, all of it the work of craftsmen. People say about them, "They offer human sacrifice, and kiss calf-shaped idols.'