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¹Hear this and pay close attention, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear, Because you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).

²The revolters have gone deep into depravity, But I [the LORD God] will chastise them all.

³I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the prostitute and have worshiped idols; Israel has defiled itself.

⁴Their [immoral] practices will not permit them To return to their God, For the spirit of prostitution is within them And they do not know the LORD [they do not recognize, appreciate, heed or cherish Him].

⁵But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies against him. Therefore Israel, and [especially] Ephraim, stumble and fall in their wickedness and guilt; Judah also has stumbled with them.

⁶They will go with their flocks and with their herds To seek the LORD [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].

⁷They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].

⁸Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin's northern border]. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven: "Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!"

⁹Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is certain.

¹⁰The princes of Judah are like those who move a boundary marker; I will pour out My wrath on them like [an unrestrained flood of] water.

¹¹Ephraim is oppressed; he is broken and crushed by [divine] judgment, Because he was determined to follow man's command(vanities, filth, secular precepts).

¹²Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim And like dry rot to the house of Judah [in My judgment against them].

¹³When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria [instead of the LORD] And sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. But he cannot heal you Nor will he cure you of your wound [received in judgment].

¹⁴For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go on [tearing]; I will carry off [the prey] and there will be no one to rescue them.

¹⁵I will go away and return to My place [on high] Until they acknowledge their offense and bear their guilt and seek My face; In their distress they will earnestly seek Me, saying,

¹"Come and let us return [in repentance] to the LORD, For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

²"After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up That we may live before Him.

³"So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] LORD [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him]. His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn, And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."

⁴O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, what shall I do with you? For your [wavering] loyalty and kindness are [transient] like the morning cloud And like the dew that goes away early.

⁵Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all].

⁶For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

⁷But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

⁸Gilead is a city of wrongdoers; It is tracked with bloody footprints.

⁹And as bands of robbers [lie in] wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the road toward Shechem [covering their crimes in that city of refuge]; Certainly they have committed crimes and outrages.

¹⁰I have seen a horrible thing [sins of every kind] in the house of Israel! Ephraim's prostitution (idolatry) is there; Israel has defiled itself.

¹¹Also, O Judah, there is a harvest [of divine judgment] appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people [who have been slaves to the misery of sin].

¹When I would heal Israel, The sin (guilt) of Ephraim is uncovered, And the wickedness of Samaria, Because they practice false dealing; The thief enters, Bandits ravage and raid outside.

²But they do not consider in their hearts (minds) That I remember [always] all their wickedness. Now their deeds surround and entangle them; They are before My face.

³They make the king glad with their wickedness, And the princes with their lies.

⁴They are all adulterers; Like the heat of an oven When the baker ceases to stir the fire, [their passion smolders] From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

⁵On the [special] day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; The king stretched out his hand [in association] with scoffers (lawless people).

⁶As they approach their plotting, Their mind burns [with intrigue] like an oven [while they lie in wait]. Their anger smolders all night; In the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

⁷They are all hot like an oven And they consume their judges (rulers); All their kings have fallen. There is no one among them who calls to Me.

⁸Ephraim mixes himself with the [Gentile] nations [seeking favor with one country, then another]; Ephraim is a cake not turned [worthless; ready to be thrown away].

⁹Strangers have devoured his strength, Yet he does not know it; Gray hairs are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know.

¹⁰Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they do not return [in repentance] to the LORD their God, Nor seek nor search for nor desire Him [as essential] in spite of all this.

¹¹Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without heart or good sense; They call to Egypt [for help], they go to Assyria.

¹²When they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens [into Assyrian captivity]. I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation (prophecy) to their congregation.

¹³Woe (judgment is coming) to them, for they have wandered away from Me! Devastation is theirs, because they have rebelled and trespassed against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

¹⁴They do not cry out to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds [in unbelieving despair]; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [as if worshiping Baal]; They rebel against Me.

¹⁵Although I trained and strengthened their arms [for victory over their enemies], Yet they devise evil against Me.

¹⁶They turn, but they do not turn upward to the Most High. They are like a poorly crafted bow [that misses the mark]; Their princes shall fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue. This will be cause for their mockery and disdain in the land of Egypt.

¹Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]! Like a [great] vulture the enemy comes against the house of the LORD, Because they have broken My covenant And transgressed and rebelled against My law.

²Then they will cry out to Me, "My God, we of Israel know You!"

³Israel has rejected the good; The enemy shall pursue him.

⁴They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing]; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.

⁵He has rejected your [pagan] calf, O Samaria, saying, "My wrath burns against them." How long will they be incapable of innocence?

⁶For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel. A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces and go up in flames.

⁷For they sow the wind [in evil] And they reap the whirlwind [in disaster]. The standing grain has no growth; It yields no grain. If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it up.

⁸Israel is [as if] swallowed up [by enemies]; They are now among the nations Like a vessel [of cheap, coarse pottery] that is useless.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey wandering alone and taking her own way; Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).

¹⁰Yes, even though [with presents] they hire allies among the nations, Now I will gather them up; And [in a little while] they will begin to grow weak and diminish Because of the burden imposed by the king of princes [the king of Assyria].

¹¹For Ephraim has constructed many altars for sin; They are altars intended for sinning [which multiply his guilt].

¹²I wrote for him the ten thousand precepts of My law, But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].

¹³As for My sacrificial offerings, They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it, But the LORD is not pleased with them and does not accept them. Now He will remember and take into account their wickedness and guilt, And punish them for their sins. They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].

¹⁴For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces [and pagan temples], And Judah has built many fortified cities; But I will send a fire upon their cities so that it may consume their palaces and fortresses.

¹Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation as do the [pagan] peoples, For you have played the prostitute, turning away from your God. You have loved prostitutes' earnings on every threshing floor [attributing the harvest to the Baals instead of to God].

²The threshing floor and the wine press will no longer feed them, And the new wine will fail them [because they failed to honor the God who provides].

³They will not remain in the land of the LORD, But Ephraim will return to [another] Egypt [in bondage] And they will eat [ceremonially] unclean food in Assyria.

⁴They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD; Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners' bread [eaten at funerals]; All who eat it will be [ceremonially] unclean, For their bread will be for themselves; It will not enter the house of the LORD [to be consecrated].

⁵What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of the LORD [when you are in exile]?

⁶For behold, they will go away because of devastation and destruction; Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take over their treasures of silver; Thorns will grow in their tents.

⁷The days of punishment have come; The days of retribution are at hand; Let Israel know this! The prophet is [considered] a fool; The man [of God] who is inspired is [treated as if] demented, Because of the abundance of your wickedness and guilt, And because your deep antagonism [toward God and the prophets] is so great.

⁸Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a [true] prophet [to warn the nation]; But the snare of a bird catcher was laid in all his paths. And there is only deep hostility in the house of his God (the land of Israel).

⁹They have deeply corrupted (perverted) themselves As in the days of Gibeah. The LORD will remember their wickedness and guilt; He will punish their sins.

¹⁰I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight]; I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season, But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal], And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.

¹¹As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird; No birth, no pregnancy, and [because of their impurity] no conception.

¹²Even though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not one is left. Indeed, woe (judgment is coming) to them when I look away and withdraw [My blessing] from them!

¹³Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].

¹⁴Give them [the punishment they deserve], O LORD! What will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

¹⁵All their wickedness [says the LORD] is focused in Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their [idolatrous] practices I will drive them out of My house (the land of Israel)! I will love them no longer; All their princes are rebels.

¹⁶Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, They will bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will slay the precious children of their womb.

¹⁷My God will reject them and cast them away Because they did not listen to Him; And they will be wanderers (fugitives) among the nations.