⁸ Ephraim is himself ^(O)thrown about with the ^[h]nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
^9 (P)Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he ^(Q)does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.
¹⁰ Though the ^(R)pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet ^(S)they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.
¹¹ So ^(T)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, ^(U)without ^[i]sense;
They call to ^(V)Egypt, they go to ^(W)Assyria.
¹² When they go, I will ^(X)spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will ^(Y)discipline them in accordance with the ^[j]proclamation to their assembly.
^13 (Z)Woe to them, for they have ^(AA)strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I ^(AB)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
¹⁴ And ^(AC)they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they ^[k](AD)assemble themselves,
They ^(AE)turn against Me.
¹⁵ Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they ^(AF)devise evil against Me.
¹⁶ They turn, but not ^[l]upward,
They are like a ^(AG)loose bow;
Their officials will fall by the sword
Because of the ^[m](AH)insolence of their tongue.
This will be their ^(AI)derision in the land of Egypt.

⁸ Israel has been ^(AY)swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a ^(AZ)vessel in which no one delights.
⁹ For they have gone up to ^(BA)Assyria,
Like ^(BB)a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has ^(BC)paid fees for ^[t]lovers.
¹⁰ Even though they ^[u]pay for allies among the nations,
I will ^(BD)gather them up now;
And they will begin ^(BE)to diminish
Because of the burden of the ^(BF)king of officials.

¹¹ Since Ephraim has ^(BG)multiplied altars for sin,
They have become altars of sinning for him.
¹² Though ^(BH)I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My ^(BI)Law,
They are regarded as a strange thing.
¹³ As for My ^(BJ)sacrificial gifts,
They ^(BK)sacrifice the flesh and eat it,
But the Lord has taken no delight in them.
Now He will ^(BL)remember their guilt,
And ^(BM)punish them for their sins;
They will return to ^(BN)Egypt.
¹⁴ For Israel has ^(BO)forgotten his Maker and ^(BP)built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a ^(BQ)fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.

⁷ The days of ^(CF)punishment have come,
The days of ^(CG)retribution have come;
^[ad]Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a ^(CH)fool,
The ^[ae]inspired person is ^(CI)insane,
Because of the grossness of your ^(CJ)wrongdoing,
And because your ^[af]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 ^[ag]hostility in the house of his God.
⁹ They are ^(CK)deeply depraved
As in the days of ^(CL)Gibeah;
He will ^(CM)remember their guilt,
He will punish their sins.

¹⁰ I found Israel like ^(CN)grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the ^(CO)earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to ^(CP)Baal-peor and devoted themselves to ^[ah](CQ)shame,
And they became as ^(CR)detestable as that which they loved.
¹¹ As for Ephraim, their ^(CS)glory 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 of their children ^[ai]until not a person is left.
Yes, ^(CT)woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
¹³ Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like ^(CU)Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
¹⁴ Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a ^(CV)miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.

¹⁵ All their evil is at ^(CW)Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the ^(CX)wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will no longer love them;
All their leaders are ^(CY)rebels.
^16 (CZ)Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will produce ^(DA)no fruit.
Even though they give birth to children,
I will put to death the ^(DB)precious ones of their womb.
¹⁷ My God will reject them
Because they have ^(DC)not listened to Him;
And they will be ^(DD)wanderers among the nations.

³ Certainly now they will say, “We have ^(DK)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
⁴ They speak mere words,
^[an]With ^(DL)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And ^(DM)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the ^[ao](DN)calf of ^(DO)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its ^(DP)idolatrous priests ^[ap]will cry out over it,
Over its ^(DQ)glory, since it has left it.
⁶ The thing itself will be brought to ^(DR)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to ^[aq](DS)King Jareb;
Ephraim will ^[ar]be ^(DT)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its ^(DU)own plan.
⁷ Samaria will be ^(DV)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
⁸ Also the ^(DW)high places of Aven, the ^(DX)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
^(DY)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will ^(DZ)say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
⁹ Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When it is My ^(EA)desire, I will ^[as](EB)discipline them;
And ^(EC)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.

¹¹ Ephraim is a trained ^(ED)heifer that loves to thresh,
^[at]And I ^(EE)passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will ^[au]harrow for himself.
^12 (EF)Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with ^[av]kindness.
^(EG)Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to ^(EH)seek the Lord
Until He ^(EI)comes and ^(EJ)rains righteousness on you.
¹³ You have ^(EK)plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of ^(EL)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your ^(EM)many warriors,
¹⁴ An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your ^(EN)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When ^(EO)mothers were ^[aw]slaughtered with their children.
¹⁵ So it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.