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13 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the other tribes trembled with fear.
Ephraim was honored in Israel.
But its people sinned by worshiping Baal.
So they were as good as dead.
They use their silver
to make statues of gods for themselves.
The statues come from their own clever ideas.
Skilled workers make all of them.
The people pray to those gods.
They offer human sacrifices to them.
They kiss the gods that look like calves.
3 So those people will vanish like the morning mist.
They will soon disappear like the early dew.
They will be like straw
that the wind blows around on a threshing floor.
They will be like smoke
that escapes through a window.
“People of Israel, I am the Lord your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
You must not recognize any God but me.
You must not have any Savior except me.
5 I took care of you in the desert.
It was a land of burning heat.
6 I fed you until you were satisfied.
Then you became proud.
You forgot all about me.
7 So I will leap on you like a lion.
I will hide and wait
beside the road like a leopard.
8 I will attack you like a bear
that is robbed of her cubs.
I will rip you wide open.
Like a lion I will eat you up.
Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
9 “Israel, you will be destroyed.
I helped you. But you turned against me.
Wasn’t he supposed to save you?
Where are the rulers in all of your towns?
You said, ‘Give us a king and princes.’
11 So I became angry and gave you a king.
Then I took him away from you.
12 Ephraim, your guilt is piling up.
I am keeping a record of all of your sins.
13 You will suffer pain like a woman having a baby.
You are like a foolish child.
It is time for you to be born.
But you refuse to come out of your mother’s body.
14 “I will set you free from the power of the grave.
I will save you from death.
Death, where are your plagues?
Grave, where is your power to destroy?
“Ephraim, I will no longer pity you.
15 Even though you are doing well among the other tribes,
trouble will come to you.
I will send a hot and dry wind from the east.
It will blow in from the desert.
Your springs will not have any water.
Your wells will dry up.
All of your treasures
will be taken out of your storerooms.
16 People of Samaria, you must pay for your sins.
You have refused to obey me.
You will be killed with swords.
Your little children will be smashed on the ground.
Your pregnant women will be ripped wide open.”
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About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
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