Chapter 9

Ephraim Punished

1 aDo not rejoice, O Israel, 1with exultation like the 2nations!

For you have bplayed the harlot, 3forsaking your God.

You have loved harlots’ earnings on 4every threshing floor.

2 Threshing floor and wine press will anot feed them,

And the new wine will fail 1them.

3 They will not remain in athe Lord’s land,

But Ephraim will return to bEgypt,

And in cAssyria they will eat dunclean food.

4 They will not pour out drink offerings of awine to the Lord,

bTheir sacrifices will not please Him.

Their bread will 1be like 2mourners’ bread;

All who eat of it will be cdefiled,

For their bread will be for 3themselves alone;

It will not enter the house of the Lord.

5 aWhat will you do on the day of the appointed festival

And on the day of the bfeast of the Lord?

6 For behold, they will go because of destruction;

Egypt will gather them up, aMemphis will bury them.

Weeds will take over their treasures of silver;

bThorns will be in their tents.

7 The days of apunishment have come,

The days of bretribution have come;

1Let Israel know this!

The prophet is a cfool,

The 2inspired man is ddemented,

Because of the grossness of your einiquity,

And because your hostility is so great.

8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;

Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,

And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

9 They have gone adeep 1in depravity

As in the days of bGibeah;

He will cremember their iniquity,

He will punish their sins.

10 I found Israel like agrapes in the wilderness;

I saw your forefathers as the bearliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.

But they came to cBaal-peor and devoted themselves to 1dshame,

And they became as edetestable as that which they loved.

11 As for Ephraim, their aglory will fly away like a bird—

No birth, no pregnancy and no conception!

12 Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them 1until not a man is left.

Yes, awoe to them indeed when I depart from them!

13 Ephraim, as I have seen,

Is planted in a pleasant meadow like aTyre;

But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.

14 Give them, O Lord—what will You give?

Give them a amiscarrying womb and dry breasts.

15 All their evil is at aGilgal;

Indeed, I came to hate them there!

Because of the bwickedness of their deeds

I will drive them out of My house!

I will love them no more;

All their princes are crebels.

16 aEphraim is stricken, their root is dried up,

They will bear bno fruit.

Even though they bear children,

I will slay the cprecious ones of their womb.

17 My God will cast them away

Because they have anot listened to Him;

And they will be bwanderers among the nations.