14 “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

Why then has he become a prey?

15 The lions have roared against him;

they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

16 Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have shaved the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this upon yourself

by forsaking the Lord your God,

when he led you in the way?

18 And now what do you gain by going to Egypt

to drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what do you gain by going to Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your evil will chastise you,

and your apostasy will reprove you.

Know and see that it is evil and bitter

for you to forsake the Lord your God;

the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.

14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? 15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

14 “Why has Israel become a slave?

Why has he been carried away as plunder?

15 Strong lions have roared against him,

and the land has been destroyed.

The towns are now in ruins,

and no one lives in them anymore.

16 Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes,

have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.

17 And you have brought this upon yourselves

by rebelling against the Lord your God,

even though he was leading you on the way!

18 “What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt

and your covenants with Assyria?

What good to you are the streams of the Nile

or the waters of the Euphrates River?

19 Your wickedness will bring its own punishment.

Your turning from me will shame you.

You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is

to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him.

I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

14 “Is Israel a servant?

Is he a homeborn slave?

Why is he plundered?

15 The young lions roared at him, and growled;

They made his land waste;

His cities are burned, without inhabitant.

16 Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes

Have broken the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this on yourself,

In that you have forsaken the Lord your God

When He led you in the way?

18 And now why take the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of Sihor?

Or why take the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the River?

19 Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your backslidings will rebuke you.

Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing

That you have forsaken the Lord your God,

And the fear of Me is not in you,”

Says the Lord God of hosts.

14 Have the people of Israel become slaves?

Have they become like someone who was born a slave?

Why were they taken captive?

15 Enemies have roared like lions at Israel;

they have growled at Israel.

They have destroyed the land of Israel.

The cities of Israel lie in ruins,

and all the people have left.

16 The men from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have disgraced you by shaving the top of your head.

17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves

by turning away from the Lord your God

when he was leading you in the right way?

18 It did not help to go to Egypt

and drink from the Shihor River.

It did not help to go to Assyria

and drink from the Euphrates River.

19 Your evil will bring punishment to you,

and the wrong you have done will teach you a lesson.

Think about it and understand

that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God.

It is wrong not to fear me,”

says the Lord God All-Powerful.

14 Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he become a prey? 15 The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled; and they have made his land waste: his cities are burned up, without inhabitant. 16 The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

14 Is Israel a bondman? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he become a spoil? 15 The young lions roared against him, they gave forth their voice, and they made his land desolate: his cities are burned, without inhabitant. 16 Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes have fed on the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, at the time he was leading thee in the way? 18 And now, what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? And what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? 19 Thine own wickedness chastiseth thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee: know then and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

14 “Are the people of Israel slaves? 

Were they born into slavery? 

Why, then, have they become someone’s property? 

15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them. 

Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland. 

The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left. 

16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel. 

17 You have brought this on yourself 

by abandoning the Lord your God 

when he led you on his way. 

18 You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt 

to drink water from the Nile River. 

You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria 

to drink water from the Euphrates River. 

19 Your own wickedness will correct you, 

and your unfaithful ways will punish you. 

You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you 

if you abandon the Lord your God and do not fear me,” 

declares the Almighty Lord of Armies. 

14 Is Israel a slave?

Was he born into slavery?

Why else has he become a prey?

15 The young lions have roared at him;

they have roared loudly.

They have laid waste his land.

His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.

16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have also broken your skull.

17 Have you not brought this on yourself

by abandoning the Lord your God

while He was leading you along the way?

18 Now what will you gain

by traveling along the way to Egypt

to drink the waters of the Nile?

What will you gain

by traveling along the way to Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your own evil will discipline you;

your own apostasies will reprimand you.

Think it over and see how evil and bitter it is

for you to abandon the Lord your God

and to have no fear of Me.

This is the declaration

of the Lord God of Hosts.

14 Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

Why then has he become plunder?

15 The lions have roared against him,

they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

16 Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have broken the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this upon yourself

by forsaking the Lord your God,

while he led you in the way?

18 What then do you gain by going to Egypt,

to drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what do you gain by going to Assyria,

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your wickedness will punish you,

and your apostasies will convict you.

Know and see that it is evil and bitter

for you to forsake the Lord your God;

the fear of me is not in you,

says the Lord God of hosts.

14 Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?

Why has he become plunder?

15 The young lions have roared against him,

they have raised their voices.

And they have made his land as horror;

his cities are destroyed, without an inhabitant.

16 Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

will shave your skull.

17 Did you not do this to yourself,

by forsaking Yahweh, your God,

at the time of your leading in the way?

18 And now why do you go the way of Egypt

to drink the waters of the Shihor?

And why do you go the way of Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your wickedness will chastise you,

and your apostasies will reprove you.

Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,

your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,

and fear of me is not in you,”

declares the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

14 Are you people of Israel servants?

You were not born as slaves, were you?

Then why have you been carried off like stolen goods?

15 Lions have roared.

They have growled at you.

They have destroyed your land.

Your towns are burned and deserted.

16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have shaved your heads to dishonor you.

17 Haven’t you brought that on yourselves?

I am the Lord your God, but you deserted me.

You left me even while I was leading you.

18 Why do you go to Egypt

to drink water from the Shihor River?

Why do you go to Assyria

to drink from the Euphrates River?

19 You will be punished because you have sinned.

You will be corrected for turning away from me.

I am the Lord your God.

If you desert me, bad things will happen to you.

If you do not respect me, you will suffer bitterly.

I want you to understand that,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?

Why has he become a prey?

15 “The young lions have roared at him,

They have roared loudly.

And they have made his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

16 “Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the crown of your head.

17 “Have you not done this to yourself

By your forsaking the Lord your God

When He led you in the way?

18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 “Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your apostasies will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter

For you to forsake the Lord your God,

And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord God of hosts.