⁴ “Their actions hinder them from turning to their God,
    because a spirit of fornication is in their midst,
        and the Lord they do not know.
⁵ The arrogance of Israel testifies against him;
    therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity,
        and Judah with them.
⁶ They will go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn from them.
⁷ They have been unfaithful to the Lord,
    having raised unbelieving children.
In the coming month they will be devoured,
    along with their fields.^[c]

⁸ “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
    and the alarm in Ramah.
Cry out at Beth-aven
    Go out,^[d] Benjamin!
⁹ Ephraim will be desolate
    when it is rebuked.
I have made known among the tribes of Israel
    what will surely come about.
¹⁰ The princes of Judah have become
    like those who move boundary markers:
        I will pour out my anger on them like water.
¹¹ Ephraim is crushed,
    broken by judgment,
        because he^[e] willingly pursued idols.^[f]
12 Therefore I will consume^[g] Ephraim like a moth,
    and the house of Judah as rottenness consumes.
¹³ When Ephraim examined his illness
    and Judah his injury,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
    and inquired of the great king;
but he could not cure you
    nor heal your injury.
¹⁴ Therefore I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I—even I—will tear them^[h] to pieces,
    and then I will leave.
I will take them^[i] away,
    and there will be no rescue.

¹⁵ “I will leave and go back to my place
    until they admit their offense
        and seek my face.
When affliction comes to them,
    they will eagerly seek me.”