Punishment for Israel

9 Do not rejoice, Israel;

do not be jubilantb like the other nations.

For you have been unfaithfulc to your God;

you love the wages of a prostituted

at every threshing floor.

2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;

the new winee will fail them.

3 They will not remainf in the Lord’s land;

Ephraim will return to Egyptg

and eat unclean food in Assyria.h

4 They will not pour out wine offeringsi to the Lord,

nor will their sacrifices pleasej him.

Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;k

all who eat them will be unclean.l

This food will be for themselves;

it will not come into the temple of the Lord.m

5 What will you don on the day of your appointed festivals,o

on the feast days of the Lord?

6 Even if they escape from destruction,

Egypt will gather them,p

and Memphisq will bury them.r

Their treasures of silvers will be taken over by briers,

and thornst will overrun their tents.

7 The days of punishmentu are coming,

the days of reckoningv are at hand.

Let Israel know this.

Because your sinsw are so many

and your hostility so great,

the prophet is considered a fool,x

the inspired person a maniac.y

8 The prophet, along with my God,

is the watchman over Ephraim,a

yet snaresz await him on all his paths,

and hostility in the house of his God.a

9 They have sunk deep into corruption,b

as in the days of Gibeah.c

God will rememberd their wickedness

and punish them for their sins.e

10 “When I found Israel,

it was like finding grapes in the desert;

when I saw your ancestors,

it was like seeing the early fruitf on the figg tree.

But when they came to Baal Peor,h

they consecrated themselves to that shameful idoli

and became as vile as the thing they loved.

11 Ephraim’s gloryj will fly away like a birdk—

no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.l

12 Even if they rear children,

I will bereavem them of every one.

Woen to them

when I turn away from them!o

13 I have seen Ephraim,p like Tyre,

planted in a pleasant place.q

But Ephraim will bring out

their children to the slayer.”r

14 Give them, Lord—

what will you give them?

Give them wombs that miscarry

and breasts that are dry.s

15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,t

I hated them there.

Because of their sinful deeds,u

I will drive them out of my house.

I will no longer love them;v

all their leaders are rebellious.w

16 Ephraimx is blighted,

their root is withered,

they yield no fruit.y

Even if they bear children,

I will slayz their cherished offspring.”

17 My God will rejecta them

because they have not obeyedb him;

they will be wanderers among the nations.c

10 Israel was a spreading vine;d

he brought forth fruit for himself.

As his fruit increased,

he built more altars;e

as his land prospered,f

he adorned his sacred stones.g

2 Their heart is deceitful,h

and now they must bear their guilt.i

The Lord will demolish their altarsj

and destroy their sacred stones.k

3 Then they will say, “We have no king

because we did not revere the Lord.

But even if we had a king,

what could he do for us?”

4 They make many promises,

take false oathsl

and make agreements;m

therefore lawsuits spring up

like poisonous weedsn in a plowed field.

5 The people who live in Samaria fear

for the calf-idolo of Beth Aven.a p

Its people will mourn over it,

and so will its idolatrous priests,q

those who had rejoiced over its splendor,

because it is taken from them into exile.r

6 It will be carried to Assyrias

as tributet for the great king.u

Ephraim will be disgraced;v

Israel will be ashamedw of its foreign alliances.

7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,x

swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8 The high placesy of wickednessb z will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thornsa and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.b

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”c

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”d

9 “Since the days of Gibeah,e you have sinned,f Israel,

and there you have remained.c

Will not war again overtake

the evildoers in Gibeah?

10 When I please, I will punishg them;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bonds for their double sin.

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer

that loves to thresh;

so I will put a yokeh

on her fair neck.

I will drive Ephraim,

Judah must plow,

and Jacob must break up the ground.

12 Sowi righteousnessj for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;k

for it is time to seekl the Lord,

until he comes

and showers his righteousnessm on you.

13 But you have planted wickedness,

you have reaped evil,n

you have eaten the fruit of deception.o

Because you have depended on your own strength

and on your many warriors,p

14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be devastatedq—

as Shalmanr devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.s

15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,

because your wickedness is great.

When that day dawns,

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.t

God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a child,u I lovedv him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.w

2 But the more they were called,

the more they went away from me.a x

They sacrificed to the Baalsy

and they burned incense to images.z

3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms;a

but they did not realize

it was I who healedb them.

4 I led them with cords of human kindness,

with ties of love.c

To them I was like one who lifts

a little child to the cheek,

and I bent down to feedd them.e

5 “Will they not return to Egyptf

and will not Assyriag rule over them

because they refuse to repent?h

6 A swordi will flash in their cities;

it will devourj their false prophets

and put an end to their plans.

7 My people are determined to turnk from me.l

Even though they call me God Most High,

I will by no means exalt them.

8 “How can I give you up,m Ephraim?n

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboyim?o

My heart is changed within me;

all my compassionp is aroused.q

9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,r

nor will I devastates Ephraim again.

For I am God, and not a mant—

the Holy Oneu among you.

I will not come against their cities.

10 They will follow the Lord;

he will roarv like a lion.w

When he roars,

his children will come tremblingx from the west.y

11 They will come from Egypt,

trembling like sparrows,

from Assyria,z fluttering like doves.a

I will settle them in their homes,”b

declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,c

Israel with deceit.

And Judah is unruly against God,

even against the faithfuld Holy One.b e