10 Israel was a spreading vine;^(A)
    he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
    he built more altars;^(B)
as his land prospered,^(C)
    he adorned his sacred stones.^(D)
2 Their heart is deceitful,^(E)
    and now they must bear their guilt.^(F)
The Lord will demolish their altars^(G)
    and destroy their sacred stones.^(H)

³ Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
⁴ They make many promises,
    take false oaths^(I)
    and make agreements;^(J)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds^(K) in a plowed field.
⁵ The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol^(L) of Beth Aven.^[a](M)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,^(N)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.^(O)
6 It will be carried to Assyria^(P)
    as tribute^(Q) for the great king.^(R)
Ephraim will be disgraced;^(S)
    Israel will be ashamed^(T) of its foreign alliances.
⁷ Samaria’s king will be destroyed,^(U)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
⁸ The high places^(V) of wickedness^[b](W) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns^(X) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.^(Y)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”^(Z)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^(AA)

⁹ “Since the days of Gibeah,^(AB) you have sinned,^(AC) Israel,
    and there you have remained.^[c]
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When I please, I will punish^(AD) them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹ Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke^(AE)
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plow,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹² Sow^(AF) righteousness^(AG) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;^(AH)
    for it is time to seek^(AI) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness^(AJ) on you.
¹³ But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,^(AK)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.^(AL)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,^(AM)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated^(AN)—
as Shalman^(AO) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^(AP)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^(AQ)

⁵ “Will they not return to Egypt^(BC)
    and will not Assyria^(BD) rule over them
    because they refuse to repent?^(BE)
6 A sword^(BF) will flash in their cities;
    it will devour^(BG) their false prophets
    and put an end to their plans.
⁷ My people are determined to turn^(BH) from me.^(BI)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

⁸ “How can I give you up,^(BJ) Ephraim?^(BK)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?^(BL)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion^(BM) is aroused.^(BN)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,^(BO)
    nor will I devastate^(BP) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man^(BQ)—
    the Holy One^(BR) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰ They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar^(BS) like a lion.^(BT)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling^(BU) from the west.^(BV)
11 They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,^(BW) fluttering like doves.^(BX)
I will settle them in their homes,”^(BY)
    declares the Lord.

⁷ The merchant uses dishonest scales^(CS)
    and loves to defraud.
⁸ Ephraim boasts,^(CT)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^(CU)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

⁹ “I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;^(CV)
I will make you live in tents^(CW) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
¹⁰ I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables^(CX) through them.”^(CY)

¹¹ Is Gilead wicked?^(CZ)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^(DA)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.^(DB)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[h];^(DC)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.^(DD)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^(DE)
    by a prophet he cared for him.^(DF)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^(DG)
    and will repay him for his contempt.^(DH)

⁴ “But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.^(DU)
You shall acknowledge^(DV) no God but me,^(DW)
    no Savior^(DX) except me.
⁵ I cared for you in the wilderness,^(DY)
    in the land of burning heat.
⁶ When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;^(DZ)
    then they forgot^(EA) me.^(EB)
7 So I will be like a lion^(EC) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸ Like a bear robbed of her cubs,^(ED)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion^(EE) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.^(EF)

⁹ “You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,^(EG) against your helper.^(EH)
10 Where is your king,^(EI) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?^(EJ)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,^(EK)
    and in my wrath I took him away.^(EL)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.^(EM)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth^(EN) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time^(EO) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.^(EP)

¹⁴ “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;^(EQ)
    I will redeem them from death.^(ER)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
    Where, O grave, is your destruction?^(ES)

“I will have no compassion,
¹⁵     even though he thrives^(ET) among his brothers.
An east wind^(EU) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.^(EV)
His storehouse will be plundered^(EW)
    of all its treasures.
¹⁶ The people of Samaria^(EX) must bear their guilt,^(EY)
    because they have rebelled^(EZ) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;^(FA)
    their little ones will be dashed^(FB) to the ground,
    their pregnant women^(FC) ripped open.”^[j]

⁴ “I will heal^(FO) their waywardness^(FP)
    and love them freely,^(FQ)
    for my anger has turned away^(FR) from them.
⁵ I will be like the dew^(FS) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.^(FT)
Like a cedar of Lebanon^(FU)
    he will send down his roots;^(FV)
6     his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,^(FW)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.^(FX)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;^(FY)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom^(FZ) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine^(GA) of Lebanon.^(GB)
8 Ephraim, what more have I^[m] to do with idols?^(GC)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;^(GD)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹ Who is wise?^(GE) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.^(GF)
The ways of the Lord are right;^(GG)
    the righteous walk^(GH) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.