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God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude

11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.(A)
The more I[a] called them,
    the more they went from me;[b]
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
    and offering incense to idols.(B)

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
    I took them up in my[c] arms,
    but they did not know that I healed them.(C)
I led them with cords of human kindness,
    with bands of love.
I was to them like those
    who lift infants to their cheeks.[d]
    I bent down to them and fed them.(D)

They shall return to the land of Egypt,
    and Assyria shall be their king,
    because they have refused to return to me.(E)
The sword rages in their cities;
    it consumes their oracle priests
    and devours because of their schemes.(F)
My people are bent on turning away from me.
    To the Most High they call,
    but he does not raise them up at all.[e](G)

How can I give you up, Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
    How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
    my compassion grows warm and tender.(H)
I will not execute my fierce anger;
    I will not again destroy Ephraim,
for I am God and no mortal,
    the Holy One in your midst,
    and I will not come in wrath.[f](I)

10 They shall go after the Lord,
    who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
    his children shall come trembling from the west.(J)
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt
    and like doves from the land of Assyria,
    and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.(K)

12 [g]Ephraim has surrounded me with lies
    and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks[h] with God
    and is faithful to the Holy One.(L)

12 Ephraim herds the wind
    and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
    they make a treaty with Assyria,
    and oil is carried to Egypt.(M)

The Long History of Rebellion

The Lord has an indictment against Judah
    and will punish Jacob according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.(N)
In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
    and in his manhood he strove with God.(O)
He strove with the angel and prevailed;
    he wept and sought his favor;
he met him at Bethel,
    and there he spoke with him.[i](P)
The Lord the God of hosts,
    the Lord is his name!
But as for you, return to your God;
    hold fast to love and justice,
    and wait continually for your God.(Q)

A trader in whose hands are false balances,
    he loves to oppress.(R)
Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
    I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
    no offense has been found in me
    that would be sin.”[j](S)
I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
    as in the days of the appointed festival.(T)

10 I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied visions,
    and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(U)
11 In[k] Gilead there is iniquity;
    they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
    so their altars shall be like stone heaps
    on the furrows of the field.(V)
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
    there Israel served for a wife,
    and for a wife he guarded sheep.[l](W)
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
    and by a prophet he was guarded.(X)
14 Ephraim has given bitter offense,
    so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
    and pay him back for his insults.(Y)

Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
    he was exalted in Israel,
    but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.(Z)
And now they keep on sinning
    and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
    all of them the work of artisans.
“Sacrifice to these,” they say.[m]
    People are kissing calves!(AA)
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
    or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
    or like smoke from a window.(AB)

Yet I have been the Lord your God
    ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
    and besides me there is no savior.(AC)
It was I who fed[n] you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought.(AD)
When I fed[o] them, they were satisfied;
    they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;
    therefore they forgot me.(AE)
So I will become like a lion to them;
    like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.(AF)
I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs
    and will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
    as a wild animal would mangle them.

I will destroy you, O Israel;
    who can help you?[p]
10 Where now is[q] your king, that he may save you?
    Where in all your cities are your rulers,
of whom you said,
    “Give me a king and rulers”?(AG)
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
    and I took him away in my wrath.(AH)

12 Ephraim’s iniquity is bound up;
    his sin is kept in store.(AI)
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
    but he is an unwise son,
for at the proper time he does not present himself
    at the mouth of the womb.(AJ)

14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
    Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are[r] your plagues?
    O Sheol, where is[s] your destruction?
    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(AK)

15 Although he may flourish among rushes,[t]
    the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord,
    rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
    his spring shall be parched.
It shall strip his treasury
    of every precious thing.(AL)
16 [u]Samaria shall bear her guilt
    because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
    their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
    and their pregnant women ripped open.(AM)

A Plea for Repentance

14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.(AN)
Take words with you
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
    and we will offer
    the fruit[v] of our lips.(AO)
Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”(AP)

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their disloyalty;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.(AQ)
I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[w](AR)
His shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive tree
    and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.(AS)
They shall again live beneath my[x] shadow;
    they shall flourish as a garden;[y]
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.(AT)

O Ephraim, what have I[z] to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[aa]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your fruit comes from me.(AU)
Those who are wise understand these things;
    those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.(AV)

Footnotes

  1. 11.2 Gk: Heb they
  2. 11.2 Gk: Heb them
  3. 11.3 Gk Syr Vg: Heb his
  4. 11.4 Or who ease the yoke on their jaws
  5. 11.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  6. 11.9 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  7. 11.12 12.1 in Heb
  8. 11.12 Heb roams or rules
  9. 12.4 Gk Syr: Heb us
  10. 12.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  11. 12.11 Syr: Heb If
  12. 12.12 Heb lacks sheep
  13. 13.2 Cn Compare Gk: Heb To these they say sacrifices of people
  14. 13.5 Gk Syr: Heb knew
  15. 13.6 Cn: Heb according to their pasture
  16. 13.9 Gk Syr: Heb for in me is your help
  17. 13.10 Gk Syr Vg: Heb I will be
  18. 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
  19. 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
  20. 13.15 Or among brothers
  21. 13.16 14.1 in Heb
  22. 14.2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
  23. 14.5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
  24. 14.7 Heb his
  25. 14.7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
  26. 14.8 Or What more has Ephraim
  27. 14.8 Heb him