7 “They sow the wind

and reap the whirlwind.

The stalk has no head;

it will produce no flour.

Were it to yield grain,

foreigners would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

now she is among the nations

like something no one wants.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria

like a wild donkey wandering alone.

Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:

It hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal:

If so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up:

Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself:

Ephraim hath hired lovers.

7 “They have planted the wind

and will harvest the whirlwind.

The stalks of grain wither

and produce nothing to eat.

And even if there is any grain,

foreigners will eat it.

8 The people of Israel have been swallowed up;

they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot.

9 Like a wild donkey looking for a mate,

they have gone up to Assyria.

The people of Israel have sold themselves—

sold themselves to many lovers.

7 “They sow 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 which is no pleasure.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

Like a wild donkey alone by itself;

Ephraim has hired lovers.

7 “Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind,

but they will harvest a storm.

Like a stalk with no head of grain,

it produces nothing.

Even if it produced something,

other nations would eat it.

8 Israel is eaten up;

the people are mixed among the other nations

and have become useless to me.

9 Israel is like a wild donkey all by itself.

They have run to Assyria;

They have hired other nations to protect them.

7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: he hath no standing grain; the blade shall yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up: now are they among the nations as a vessel wherein none delighteth. 9 For they are gone up to Assyria, like a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; should it sprout, it would yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up: now are they become among the nations as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. 9 For they are gone up to Assyria as a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

7 “The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. 

A field of grain that doesn’t ripen will never produce any grain. 

Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all. 

8 Israel will be swallowed up. 

It has already mixed in with the other nations. 

It has become worthless. 

9 “The people of Israel went to Assyria. 

They were like wild donkeys wandering off alone. 

The people of Ephraim sold themselves to their lovers. 

7 Indeed, they sow the wind

and reap the whirlwind.

There is no standing grain;

what sprouts fails to yield flour.

Even if they did,

foreigners would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up!

Now they are among the nations

like discarded pottery.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria

like a wild donkey going off on its own.

Ephraim has paid for love.

7 For they sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads,

it shall yield no meal;

if it were to yield,

foreigners would devour it.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

now they are among the nations

as a useless vessel.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

a wild ass wandering alone;

Ephraim has bargained for lovers.

7 Because they sow the wind,

they will reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain does not have heads;

it will not yield flour.

And if it would yield,

strangers would devour it.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

now they are among the nations,

like an object that no one desires.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

a wild donkey alone to itself;

Ephraim has sold itself for lovers.

7 The Lord says,

“Worshiping other gods is like worshiping the wind.

It is like planting worthless seeds.

Assyria is like a windstorm.

That is all my people will harvest.

There are no heads of grain

on the stems that will come up.

So they will not produce any flour.

Even if they did produce grain,

the Assyrians would eat all of it up.

8 So the people of Israel are swallowed up.

Now they are like a worthless pot to me

among the nations.

9 They have gone up to Assyria for help.

They are like a wild donkey

that wanders around by itself.

Ephraim’s people have sold themselves

to their Assyrian lovers.

7 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.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

They are now among the nations

Like a vessel in which no one delights.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

Like a wild donkey all alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers.