[1] When Ephraim spoke, there was excitement; he was praised in Israel; but he became guilty through Baal and died. [2] And now they keep on sinning; they have made metal images, idols of silver, as a result of their skill, all of them the work of craftsmen. “Sacrifice to these,” they say. People are kissing calves! [3] Therefore, they will be like the morning mist, like the dew that passes away early, like husks that swirl from the threshing floor, or like smoke from a window. [4] Yet I have been the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; and you will know no other gods but me; there is no savior besides me. [5] I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of no rain. [6] When I fed them, they were satisfied; and their hearts became proud; therefore, they forgot me. [7] So I will become like a lion to them; like a leopard I will lurk beside the road. [8] I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and I will tear open the covering of their hearts. I will devour them like a lion, as a wild animal would eat them. [9] I will destroy you, Israel; for you didn’t realize that I could help you. [10] Where is your king now, so that he can save you? Where in all your cities are your judges, of whom you said, “Give me a king and rulers”? [11] I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. [12] Ephraim’s wickedness is bound up; his sin is kept in store. [13] The pangs of a woman in childbirth come for him, but he is not aware of the time to be born; for at the proper time he doesn’t present himself at the mouth of the womb. [14] Will I ransom them from the power of the grave Will I redeem them from death’s hold? Death, where are your diseases? Grave, where is your destruction? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. [15] Although he may flourish among rushes, the east wind will come—the breath of God rising from the wilderness; and his spring will dry up; his fountain will be dried up. It will strip his household of every cherished possession. [16] Samaria will be desolate, because she has rebelled against her God; by the sword they will fall—their babies will be dashed, and their pregnant women ripped open.
