New King James Version (NKJV)

1 “When I would have healed Israel,

Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered,

And the wickedness of Samaria.

# Forthey have committed fraud;

A thief comes in;

A band of robbers takes spoil outside.

2 They do not consider in their hearts

# ThatI remember all their wickedness;

Now their own deeds have surrounded them;

They are before My face.

3 They make aking glad with their wickedness,

# And princeswith their lies.

4 “Theyareall adulterers.

Like an oven heated by a baker—

He ceases stirringthefireafter kneading the dough,

Until it is leavened.

5 In the day of our king

# Princes have madehimsick, inflamed withwine;

He stretched out his hand with scoffers.

6 They prepare their heart like an oven,

While they lie in wait;

Their baker sleeps all night;

In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.

7 They are all hot, like an oven,

And have devoured their judges;

All their kings have fallen.

# None among them calls upon Me.

8 “Ephraimhas mixed himself among the peoples;

Ephraim is a cake unturned.

9 Aliens have devoured his strength,

But he does not knowit;

Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him,

Yet he does not knowit.

10 And thepride of Israel testifies to his face,

# Butthey do not return to theLordtheir God,

Nor seek Him for all this.

Futile Reliance on the Nations

11 “Ephraimalso is like a silly dove, without sense—

# They call to Egypt,

# They go toAssyria.

12 Wherever they go, I willspread My net on them;

I will bring them down like birds of the air;

I will chastise them

# According to what their congregation has heard.

13 “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!

Destruction to them,

Because they have transgressed against Me!

# ThoughI redeemed them,

Yet they have spoken lies against Me.

14 They did not cry out to Me with their heart

When they wailed upon their beds.

# “They assemble together for grain and newwine,

They rebel against Me;

15 Though I disciplinedandstrengthened their arms,

Yet they devise evil against Me;

16 They return,butnot to the Most High;

# They are like a treacherous bow.

Their princes shall fall by the sword

# For thecursings of their tongue.

# Thisshallbetheir derisionin the land of Egypt.

The Apostasy of Israel

1 “Setthe trumpet to your mouth!

# Heshallcomelike an eagle against the house of theLord,

Because they have transgressed My covenant

And rebelled against My law.

2 Israel will cry to Me,

# ‘My God,we know You!’

3 Israel has rejected the good;

The enemy will pursue him.

4 “Theyset up kings, but not by Me;

They made princes, but I did not acknowledgethem.

From their silver and gold

They made idols for themselves—

That they might be cut off.

5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria!

My anger is aroused against them—

# How long until they attain to innocence?

6 For from Israeliseven this:

# Aworkman made it, and itisnot God;

But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

7 “Theysow the wind,

And reap the whirlwind.

The stalk has no bud;

It shall never produce meal.

If it should produce,

# Aliens would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

Now they are among the Gentiles

# Like a vessel in whichisno pleasure.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

# Likea wild donkey alone by itself;

# Ephraimhas hired lovers.

10 Yes, though they have hired among the nations,

# NowI will gather them;

And they shall sorrow a little,

# Because of the burden ofthe king of princes.

11 “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,

They have become for him altars for sinning.

12 I have written for himthe great things of My law,

Butthey were considered a strange thing.

13 Forthe sacrifices of My offeringsthey sacrifice flesh and eatit,

# ButtheLorddoes not accept them.

# Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.

They shall return to Egypt.

14 “ForIsrael has forgottenhis Maker,

And has built temples;

# Judah also has multipliedfortified cities;

# ButI will send fire upon his cities,

And it shall devour his palaces.”

Judgment of Israel’s Sin

1 Donot rejoice, O Israel, with joy likeotherpeoples,

For you have played the harlot against your God.

# You have made loveforhire on every threshing floor.

2 The threshing floor and the winepress

Shall not feed them,

And the new wine shall fail in her.

3 They shall not dwell intheLord’s land,

# But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,

# Andshall eat uncleanthingsin Assyria.

4 They shall not offer wineofferingsto theLord,

# Norshall theirsacrifices be pleasing to Him.

Itshallbelike bread of mourners to them;

All who eat it shall be defiled.

For their breadshallbefor theirownlife;

It shall not come into the house of theLord.

5 What will you do in the appointed day,

And in the day of the feast of theLord?

6 For indeed they are gone because of destruction.

Egypt shall gather them up;

Memphis shall bury them.

# Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver;

Thornsshallbein their tents.

7 Thedays of punishment have come;

The days of recompense have come.

Israel knows!

# The prophetisafool,

# The spiritual manisinsane,

Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.

8 Thewatchman of Ephraimiswith my God;

But the prophetisa fowler’s snare in all his ways—

Enmity in the house of his God.

9 They are deeply corrupted,

# As in the days ofGibeah.

He will remember their iniquity;

He will punish their sins.

10 “I found Israel

# Like grapes in thewilderness;

I saw your fathers

# As thefirstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.

# Butthey went toBaal Peor,

And separated themselvestothatshame;

# They became an abomination like the thing they loved.

11 AsforEphraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird—

No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!

12 Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them to the last man.

# Yes,woe to them when I depart from them!

13 Justas I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,

So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.”

14 Give them, OLord—

What will You give?

# Give thema miscarrying womb

And dry breasts!

15 “All their wickednessisinGilgal,

For there I hated them.

Because of the evil of their deeds

I will drive them from My house;

I will love them no more.

# All their princesarerebellious.

16 Ephraim isstricken,

Their root is dried up;

They shall bear no fruit.

Yes, were they to bear children,

I would kill the darlings of their womb.”

17 My God willcast them away,

Because they did not obey Him;

# And they shall bewanderers among the nations.

Israel’s Sin and Captivity

1 Israelemptieshisvine;

He brings forth fruit for himself.

According to the multitude of his fruit

# He has increased the altars;

According to the bounty of his land

They have embellishedhissacredpillars.

2 Their heart isdivided;

Now they are held guilty.

He will break down their altars;

He will ruin theirsacredpillars.

3 For now they say,

“We have no king,

Because we did not fear theLord.

And as for a king, what would he do for us?”

4 They have spoken words,

Swearing falsely in making a covenant.

# Thus judgment springs uplike hemlock in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear

# Because of thecalf of Beth Aven.

For its people mourn for it,

And its priests shriek for it—

# Because itsglory has departed from it.

6 Theidolalso shall be carried to Assyria

# Asa present for KingJareb.

Ephraim shall receive shame,

And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

7 AsforSamaria, her king is cut off

Like a twig on the water.

8 Also thehigh places of Aven,the sin of Israel,

Shall be destroyed.

The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;

# They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days ofGibeah;

There they stood.

# Thebattle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity

Did not overtake them.

10 WhenitisMy desire, I will chasten them.

# Peoples shall be gathered against them

When I bind them for their two transgressions.

11 Ephraimisa trained heifer

That loves to threshgrain;

But I harnessed her fair neck,

I will make Ephraim pullaplow.

Judah shall plow;

Jacob shall break his clods.”

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;

Reap in mercy;

# Break up your fallow ground,

Foritistime to seek theLord,

# Till Hecomes and rains righteousness on you.

13 You have plowed wickedness;

You have reaped iniquity.

You have eaten the fruit of lies,

Because you trusted in your own way,

In the multitude of your mighty men.

14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,

And all your fortresses shall be plundered

As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—

A mother dashed in pieces uponherchildren.

15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

Because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel

Shall be cut off utterly.

God’s Continuing Love for Israel

1 “When Israelwasa child, I loved him,

# And out of EgyptI called Myson.

2 Asthey called them,

# So theywent from them;

They sacrificed to the Baals,

And burned incense to carved images.

3 “Itaught Ephraim to walk,

Taking them by their arms;

# But they did not know thatI healed them.

4 I drew them with gentle cords,

With bands of love,

# AndI was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.

# I stoopedandfed them.

5 “He shall not return to the land of Egypt;

But the Assyrian shall be his king,

Because they refused to repent.

6 And the sword shall slash in his cities,

Devour his districts,

And consumethem,

Because of their own counsels.

7 My people are bent onbacksliding from Me.

Though they call to the Most High,

None at all exaltHim.

8 “Howcan I give you up, Ephraim?

Howcan I hand you over, Israel?

# How can I make you likeAdmah?

Howcan I set you like Zeboiim?

My heart churns within Me;

My sympathy is stirred.

9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim.

# For IamGod, and not man,

The Holy One in your midst;

And I will not come with terror.

10 “They shall walk after theLord.

# He will roar like a lion.

When He roars,

ThenHissons shall come trembling from the west;

11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,

# Like a dove from the land of Assyria.

# And I will let them dwell in their houses,”

Says theLord.

God’s Charge Against Ephraim

12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,

And the house of Israel with deceit;

But Judah still walks with God,

Even with the Holy Onewhoisfaithful.

1 “Ephraimfeeds on the wind,

And pursues the east wind;

He daily increases lies and desolation.

# Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,

# Andoil is carried to Egypt.

2 “TheLordalsobringsa charge against Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

According to his deeds He will recompense him.

3 He took his brotherby the heel in the womb,

# And in his strength hestruggled with God.

4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

He wept, and sought favor from Him.

# He found HiminBethel,

And there He spoke to us—

5 That is, theLordGod of hosts.

# TheLordisHismemorable name.

6 So you, bythehelpofyour God, return;

Observe mercy and justice,

And wait on your God continually.

7 “A cunning Canaanite!

# Deceitful scalesarein his hand;

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said,

# ‘Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

Inall my labors

They shall find in me no iniquity thatissin.’

9 “But IamtheLordyour God,

Ever since the land of Egypt;

# I will again make you dwell in tents,

As in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets,

And have multiplied visions;

I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”

11 ThoughGileadhasidols—

Surely they are vanity—

# Though they sacrifice bulls inGilgal,

Indeed their altarsshallbeheaps in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacobfled to the country of Syria;

# Israel served for a spouse,

And for a wife he tendedsheep.

13 By a prophet theLordbrought Israel out of Egypt,

And by a prophet he was preserved.

14 EphraimprovokedHimto anger most bitterly;

Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,

# And return his reproach upon him.

Relentless Judgment on Israel

1 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,

He exaltedhimselfin Israel;

But when he offended through Baalworship, he died.

2 Now they sin more and more,

And have made for themselves molded images,

Idols of their silver, according to their skill;

All of itisthe work of craftsmen.

They say of them,

“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud

And like the early dew that passes away,

# Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

4 “YetIamtheLordyour God

Ever since the land of Egypt,

And you shall know no God but Me;

# Forthereisno savior besides Me.

5 I knew you in the wilderness,

# In the land of great drought.

6 When they had pasture, they were filled;

They were filled and their heart was exalted;

Therefore they forgot Me.

7 “SoI will be to them like a lion;

# Likea leopard by the road I will lurk;

8 I will meet themlike a bear deprivedofhercubs;

I will tear open their rib cage,

And there I will devour them like a lion.

The wild beast shall tear them.

9 “O Israel, you are destroyed,

But your helpisfrom Me.

10 I will be your King;

# Whereisanyother,

That he may save you in all your cities?

# And your judges to whomyou said,

‘Give me a king and princes’?

11 I gave you a king in My anger,

And tookhimaway in My wrath.

12 “Theiniquity of Ephraimisbound up;

His sinisstored up.

13 The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.

Heisan unwise son,

For he should not stay long where children are born.

14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave;

I will redeem them from death.

# O Death, I will be your plagues!

O Grave, I will be your destruction!

# Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

15 Though he is fruitful amonghisbrethren,

# An east wind shall come;

The wind of theLordshall come up from the wilderness.

Then his spring shall become dry,

And his fountain shall be dried up.

He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.

16 Samaria is held guilty,

# For she hasrebelled against her God.

They shall fall by the sword,

Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,

# And their women with childripped open.

Israel Restored at Last

1 O Israel,return to theLordyour God,

For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;

2 Take words with you,

And return to theLord.

Say to Him,

“Take away all iniquity;

Receiveusgraciously,

# For we will offer thesacrifices of our lips.

3 Assyria shallnot save us,

# We will not ride on horses,

Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘Youareour gods.’

# For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

4 “I will heal theirbacksliding,

# I willlove them freely,

For My anger has turned away from him.

5 I will be like thedew to Israel;

He shall grow like the lily,

And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

6 His branches shall spread;

# His beauty shall be like an olive tree,

# Andhis fragrance like Lebanon.

7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;

They shall be revivedlikegrain,

And grow like a vine.

Their scentshallbelike the wine of Lebanon.

8 “Ephraimshallsay,‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’

I have heard and observed him.

Iamlike a green cypress tree;

# Your fruit is found in Me.”

9 Whoiswise?

Let him understand these things.

Whoisprudent?

Let him know them.

# Forthe ways of theLordareright;

The righteous walk in them,

But transgressors stumble in them.