[1] Hear this, priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, house of the king! The judgment concerns you because you have been a trap at Mizpah, and a net spread out upon Tabor. [2] In their wicked condition, they have sunk deep into corruption; I will correct them through judgment. [3] I know Ephraim; Israel doesn’t escape my eye; for now Ephraim you have acted like a prostitute; Israel is defiled. [4] Their deeds don’t allow them to return to their God, because the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they don’t know the LORD. [5] Israel’s pride is a witness against him; both Israel and Ephraim stagger because of their guilt; Judah staggers with them. [6] With their sheep and their cattle they will go to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. [7] They have acted faithlessly against the LORD; for their children have produced illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them along with their fields. [8] Blow a horn in Gibeah; blow a trumpet in Ramah. Sound the warning at Beth-aven: “Look behind you, Benjamin!” [9] Ephraim will become a horrible place on the Judgment Day. Against the tribes of Israel I will certainly announce what is to take place. [10] The princes of Judah act like raiders who steal the land; I will pour out my anger like water upon them. [11] Ephraim is under pressure from its enemies; Ephraim’s rights aren’t protected. This is because Ephraim chose to pursue worthless things. [12] Therefore, I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah. [13] When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and Ephraim sent for the great king. But he could not heal them; nor could he cure their wound. [14] I am like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I am the one who tears the prey and goes forth; no one can snatch it from me. [15] I will leave so that I can return to my place until they pay for their deeds, until they seek me. In their distress, they will beg for my favor:
