For the land is full of adulterers, this crime being unusually prevalent at that time, as a natural consequence of the shameless rites introduced in connection with the idolatry practiced by the false prophets; for because of swearing the land mourneth, that is, on account of the curse following such a grave transgression the land was fading away like a wilting flower, the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, the very pastures of the steppes no longer yielding sufficient food for the herds of cattle which usually dotted their slopes; and their course, that of both prophets and people, in practicing adultery, is evil, their thought and endeavor in general, their entire behavior, being wicked and guilty, and their force is not right, they excel in wrong and wickedness.

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