“So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.
Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.
And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they have committed crime.
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.
Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people.
When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they deal falsely; The thief enters in, Bandits raid outside,
With their wickedness they make the king glad, And the princes with their lies.
They are all adulterers, Like an oven heated by the baker Who ceases to stir up the fire From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers,
For their hearts are like an oven As they approach their plotting; Their anger smolders all night, In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
Ephraim mixes himself with the nations; Ephraim has become a cake not turned.
Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God, Nor have they sought Him, for all this.
When they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly.
And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn away from Me.
They turn, but not upward, They are like a deceitful bow; Their princes will fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue. This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.
Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law.
Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.
For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.
For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.
Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in which no one delights.
Even though they hire allies among the nations, Now I will gather them up; And they will begin to diminish Because of the burden of the king of princes.
As for My sacrificial gifts, They sacrifice the flesh and eat it, But the LORD has taken no delight in them. Now He will remember their iniquity, And punish them for their sins; They will return to Egypt.
Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots’ earnings on every threshing floor.
Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will fail them.
They will not remain in the LORD’S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD, Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners’ bread; All who eat of it will be defiled, For their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of the LORD.
What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of the LORD?
The days of punishment have come, The days of retribution have come; Let Israel know this! The prophet is a fool, The inspired man is demented, Because of the grossness of your iniquity, And because your hostility is so great.
Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God.
They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved.
All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels.
Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, They will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb.
My God will cast them away Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations.
Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made; The richer his land, The better he made the sacred pillars.
Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars.
Surely now they will say, “We have no king, For we do not revere the LORD. As for the king, what can he do for us?”
They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants; And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has departed from it.
The thing itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel.
Samaria will be cut off with her king Like a stick on the surface of the water.
Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars; Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; There they stand! Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?
When it is My desire, I will chastise them; And the peoples will be gathered against them When they are bound for their double guilt.
Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, You have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,
Therefore a tumult will arise among your people, And all your fortresses will be destroyed, As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle, When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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