Beginning

8 A trump be in thy throat, as an eagle on the house of the Lord; for that that they went over my bond of peace, and brake my law. (Let a trumpet be at thy lips, like an eagle on the House of the Lord; for they have broken my covenant, and rebelled against my teaching.)

² They called me to help, (and said,) A! my God, we Israel have known thee. (They called to me for help, and said, O! my God, we Israel have known thee.)

³ Israel hath cast away good [thing], the enemy shall pursue him. (But Israel hath thrown away a good thing, and the enemy shall pursue them.)

⁴ They reigned, and not of me; they were princes, and I knew not. They made their gold and silver (into) idols to them, that they should perish. (They reigned, but not by me; they ordained rulers, but I did not know them. They made their silver and gold into idols for themselves, and so now they shall perish.)

⁵ A! Samaria, thy calf is cast away; my strong vengeance is wroth against them. How long may they not be cleansed? (O! Samaria, thy calf is thrown away; my strong vengeance is raging against them. How long until they be cleansed?)

⁶ for also it is of Israel. A craftsman made it, and it is not (a) god; for the calf of Samaria shall be into webs of araneida. (for it is also of Israel. A craftsman made it, and it is not God; for the calf of Samaria shall be like spider webs.)

⁷ For they shall sow wind, and they shall reap whirlwind. A stalk standing (up) is not in them, the seed shall not make meal; that if also it maketh meal, aliens shall eat it. (For they shall sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. A standing stalk is not among them, the seed shall not make meal, or grain; and even if it maketh meal, foreigners, or strangers, shall eat it up.)

⁸ Israel is devoured; now Israel is made as an unclean vessel among nations (and now Israel is made like an unclean, or a worthless, vessel among the peoples),

⁹ for they ascended to Assur. Ephraim is a wild ass, solitary to himself (for they went up to Assyria. Ephraim is like a wild donkey, alone unto itself). They gave gifts to [their] lovers;

¹⁰ but also with meed they hired nations (and with money they hired men from among the nations). Now I shall gather them together, and they shall rest a little from (the) burden of the king and of (the) princes.

¹¹ For Ephraim multiplied altars to do sin, altars were made to him into trespass. (For Ephraim multiplied altars to do sin, yea, altars were made for them to do sin.)

¹² I shall write to them my manyfold laws, that be areckoned as alien laws. (I wrote for them my many laws, but they be reckoned as foreign, or strange, laws.)

¹³ They shall bring sacrifices, they shall offer, and eat fleshes; and the Lord shall not receive those. Now he shall have mind on the wickednesses of them, and he shall visit the sins of them; they shall turn (again) into Egypt. (They shall bring sacrifices, they shall offer, and eat the meat, but I the Lord shall not receive them. Now I shall remember their wickednesses, and I shall punish their sins; and they shall return to Egypt.)

¹⁴ And Israel forgat his maker, and builded temples to his idols, and Judah multiplied strong cities; and I shall send fire into the cities of him, and it shall devour the houses of him. (For Israel forgot their Maker, and built temples to their idols, and Judah made many fortified cities; but I shall send fire into their cities, and it shall devour their houses, or their palaces.)

9 Israel, do not thou be glad, do not thou make full out joy as (other) peoples; for thou hast done fornication, (going away) from thy God. Thou lovedest meed on all the cornfloors of wheat. (Israel, do not thou be happy, do not thou rejoice like other peoples; for thou hast done adultery, or idolatry, going away from thy God. Thou hast received thy reward, or thy bounty, on all the threshing floors for corn.)

² The cornfloor and presser shall not feed them, and wine shall lie (down) to them. (But soon the threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the wine shall fail before them.)

³ They shall not dwell in the land of the Lord. Ephraim turned again in to Egypt, and ate defouled thing among Assyrians. (They shall not live in the land of the Lord. Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat defiled things among the Assyrians.)

⁴ They shall not offer wine to the Lord, and they shall not please him. The sacrifices of them be as bread of mourners; all that shall eat it shall be defouled. For the bread of them is to the life of them; they shall not enter into the house of the Lord. (They shall not offer wine to the Lord, and they shall not please him. Their sacrifices be like the bread of mourners; all who shall eat it shall be defiled. For their bread shall only be for their life, or for their sustenance; they shall not enter into the House of the Lord with it.)

⁵ What shall ye do in the solemn day, in the day of the feast of the Lord? (What shall ye do on the solemn day, yea, on the feast day of the Lord?)

⁶ For lo! they be gone out from destroying. Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them. A nettle shall inherit the desirable silver of them, a clote shall be in the tabernacles of them (Nettles shall inherit their treasures of silver, thorns shall grow in their tents).

⁷ Days of visitation be come, days of yielding be come. Know ye, that Israel is a fool, a mad prophet, a spiritual man, for the multitude of thy wickedness is also the multitude of madness. (Days of punishment have come, days of yielding vengeance have come, and Israel shall know it. And now the prophet shall be made a fool, and the spiritual man a madman, for the multitude of thy wickedness and thy hatred.)

⁸ The beholder of Ephraim with my God is a prophet; a snare of falling is made now on all the ways of him, strong vengeance is in the house of his God. (The watchman for Ephraim was sent from his God; but the prophet is made a snare of falling in all their ways, and strong vengeance is in the House of his God/but a snare of falling is made on all the ways of the prophet, and strong vengeance is in the House of his God.)

⁹ They sinned deeply, as in the days of Gibeah. The Lord shall have mind on the wickedness of them, and shall visit the sins of them. (They sinned deeply, like in the days of Gibeah. The Lord shall remember their wickedness, and shall punish them for their sins.)

¹⁰ I found Israel as grapes in desert, I saw the fathers of them as the first apples of a fig tree, in the top thereof; but they entered to Baalpeor, and were aliened [away] in[to] confusion, and they were made abominable as those things which they loved. (I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, I saw their forefathers like the first fruits of a fig tree, high on the top of it; but they turned to Baalpeor, and went their way in confusion, and they were made as abominable as those things which they loved.)

¹¹ Ephraim as a bird flew away; the glory of them is of child-bearing, and of the womb, and of conceiving. (The glory of Ephraim shall fly away like a bird; yea, away from child-bearing, and away from the womb, and even away from conceiving.)

¹² (So) That if they nurse their sons, I shall make them without children among men (And even if they do nourish their children, I shall soon make them to be without any children). But also woe to them, when I shall go away from them.

¹³ I saw that Ephraim was as Tyre, founded in fairness; and Ephraim shall lead out his sons to the slayer. (I saw that Ephraim was like Tyre, founded in beauty; but Ephraim shall lead out their sons to the killer.)

¹⁴ Lord, give thou to them; what shalt thou give to them? give thou to them a womb without children, and dry teats. (Lord, give thou them; but what shalt thou give them? give thou them childless wombs, and dry breasts!)

¹⁵ All the wickednesses of them be in Gilgal, for there I had them hateful; for the malice of their findings. I shall cast them out of mine house; I shall not lay to, that I love them. All the princes of them go away (from me). (All their wickednesses be in Gilgal, and it was there that I began to hate them. For the malice of their deeds, I shall throw them out of my House; and no more shall I love them. All their leaders have rebelled against me.)

¹⁶ Ephraim is smitten, the root of them is dried up; they shall not make fruit. That though they engender, I shall slay the most loved things of their womb. (Ephraim is struck down, their roots be dried up; they shall not make fruit. And if they do beget, or give birth, then I shall kill the most beloved things of their wombs.)

¹⁷ My God shall cast them away, for they heard not him (My God shall cast them away, for they did not listen to him); and they shall be of unstable dwelling among (the) nations.

10 Israel was a vine full of boughs, fruit was made even to him (Israel was a vine full of branches, bringing forth fruit unto himself); by the multitude of his fruit he multiplied (the) altars, by the plenty of his land he was plenteous. [Israel a vine full of boughs, fruit is made even to him; after the multitude of his fruit he multiplied altars, after the plenty of his land he was plenteous in simulacra, or false gods.]

² In simulacra the heart of them is parted, now they shall perish. He shall break the simulacra of them, he shall rob the altars of them. (Their hearts be all turned toward their idols, and now they shall perish. Yea, God shall destroy their idols, and shall rob their altars.) [The heart of them is parted, now they shall perish. He shall break together the simulacra of them, he shall spoil the altars of them (He shall altogether break their idols, he shall spoil their altars).]

³ For then they shall say, A king is not to us, for we dread(ed) not the Lord. And what shall a king do to us? (And then they shall say, We have no king, for we did not fear the Lord. But what good could a king do for us anyway?)

⁴ Speak ye words of unprofitable vision, and ye shall smite bond of peace with leasing; and doom as bitterness shall burgeon on the furrows of the field. (Speak ye words of unprofitable vision, and ye shall strike a covenant with lies; and a bitter justice shall burgeon on the furrows of the field.)

⁵ The dwellers of Samaria worshipped the kine of Bethaven. For the people thereof mourned on that calf, and the keepers of the house thereof; they made full out joy on it in the glory thereof, for it passed from that people. (The inhabitants of Samaria worshipped the calf of Bethaven. And so the people there, and the keepers of its temple, mourned when that calf was taken away; yea, they had rejoiced over it in its glory, before that it was taken away from that people.)

⁶ For also it was borne to Assur, a gift to the king venger. Confusion shall take Ephraim, and Israel shall be shamed in his will. (For it shall be carried over to Assyria, as a gift to the great king. And so shame shall overtake Ephraim, yea, Israel shall be ashamed of their own willfulness/Israel shall be shamed by their own willfulness.)

⁷ Samaria made his king to pass (away) as froth on the face of (the) water. (Samaria and his king were swept away, like froth upon the water.)

⁸ And the high things of idol, the sin of Israel, shall be lost. A clote and a briar shall ascend on the altars of them (And the high places, that is, the hill shrines, of Aven, or of Bethaven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorns and briars, or nettles, shall grow upon their altars). And they shall say to mountains, Cover ye us, and to little hills, Fall ye down on us.

⁹ From the days of Gibeah Israel sinned; there they stood. Battle shall not (over)take them in Gibeah, on the sons of wickedness. (From the days of Gibeah Israel hath sinned; and they have stood there in rebellion. So now in Gibeah the battle shall overtake them.)

¹⁰ By my desire I shall chastise them; peoples shall be gathered together on them (peoples shall be gathered together against them), when they shall be chastised for their two wickednesses.

¹¹ Ephraim is a cow calf, taught for to love threshing; and I went on the fairness of the neck thereof. I shall go upon Ephraim. Judah shall ear, and Jacob shall break furrows to himself. (Ephraim is a cow calf, taught to love threshing; and I put a yoke upon its comely neck. And I shall go upon, or I shall drive, Ephraim. Yea, Judah shall plow, and Jacob, or Israel, shall break the furrows for themselves.)

¹² Sow ye to you rightfulness in truth, and reap ye in the mouth of mercy, and make ye new to you a field newly brought to tilth. Forsooth time is to seek the Lord, when he cometh that shall teach you rightfulness. (And so I said, Sow ye for yourselves righteousness, or justice, in truth, and reap ye in the mouth of mercy, and make ye new to you a field newly brought to fallow. For it is time to seek the Lord, and when he cometh, he shall rain blessings upon you.)

¹³ Ye have eared unfaithfulness, ye have reaped wickedness, ye have eaten the corn of leasing. For thou trustedest in thy ways, and in the multitude of thy strong men. (But instead, ye have plowed unfaithfulness, ye have reaped wickedness, and ye have eaten the corn of lies. For thou hast trusted in thy chariots, and in the multitude of thy strong men.)

¹⁴ Noise shall rise in thy people, and all thy strongholds shall be destroyed; as Shalman was destroyed of the house of him, that took vengeance on Betharbel; in the day of battle, when the mother was hurtled down on the sons. (And so now the noise of battle shall rise against thy people, and all thy strongholds shall be destroyed; like Shalman destroyed Betharbel in the day of battle, when the mother and her sons were hurtled down to the ground.)

¹⁵ So Bethel did to you, for the face of malice of your wickednesses. As the morrowtide passeth, the king of Israel shall pass forth. (So Bethel, it shall be done to you, for the great malice of your wickednesses. Like the morning passeth into the day, so the king of Israel shall be swept away.)

11 For Israel was a child, and I loved him; and from Egypt I called my son. (When Israel was a boy, I loved him; and I called my son out of Egypt.)

² They called them, so they went away from the face of them. They offered to Baalim, and made sacrifice to simulacra. (And I called to them, but they went further away from me. They offered to the Baalim, and made sacrifice to idols.)

³ And I as a nurse of Ephraim bare them in mine arms, and they knew not, that I kept them. (And I as the nurse of Ephraim carried them in my arms, but they did not know, that it was I who had kept them safe.)

⁴ I shall draw them in the ropes of Adam, in the bonds of charity. And I shall be to them as he that enhanceth the yoke on the cheeks of them; and I bowed down to him that he should eat. (I drew them to me with the ropes of man, or of people, yea, with the bonds of love. And I was to them like he who lifteth up a little child to his cheeks/like he who lifteth off their yoke; and I bent down to feed them.)

⁵ He shall not turn again into the land of Egypt. And Assur, he shall be king of him, for they would not turn (again to me). (And so they shall return to the land of Egypt. And the Assyrian, he shall be their king, because they would not return to me.)

⁶ A sword began in the cities thereof, and it shall waste the chosen men thereof, and shall eat the heads of them. (And a sword shall begin in their cities, and it shall destroy their chosen ones, and it shall eat their leaders.)

⁷ And my people shall hang, at my coming again. But a yoke shall be put to them (al)together, that shall not be taken away. (But my people shall persist in their rebellion. And a yoke shall be put upon them, and it shall not be taken away.)

⁸ How shall I give thee (up), Ephraim? shall I defend thee, Israel? how shall I give thee (up)? As Admah I shall set thee; as Zeboiim. Mine heart is turned within me; my repentance is disturbed together. (How can I give thee up, Ephraim? how can I abandon thee, Israel? how can I give thee up? Shall I make thee like Admah? or like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me; my repentance is altogether kindled.)

⁹ I shall not do the strong vengeance of my wrath. I shall not turn (again), to lose Ephraim; for I am God, and not man. I am Holy in the midst of thee, and I shall not enter into a city. (I shall not do the strong vengeance of my anger. I shall not return, or turn back, to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not a man. I am the Holy One in thy midst, and I shall not enter into thy cities.)

¹⁰ They shall go after the Lord. He shall roar as a lion, for he shall roar, and the sons of the sea shall dread. (They shall follow after the Lord. And he shall roar like a lion, and when he shall roar, his sons shall come to him from the west.)

¹¹ And they shall fly away as a bird from Egypt, and as a culver from the land of Assyrians. And I shall set them in their houses, saith the Lord. (And they shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria. And I shall put them again in their own houses, saith the Lord.)

¹² Ephraim compassed me in denying, the house of Israel in guile. But Judah a witness went down with God, and with faithful saints. (Ephraim surroundeth me with denial, or with treachery, yea, the house of Israel surroundeth me with deceitfulness. And Judah still rebelleth against me, the faithful and the holy God.)

12 Ephraim feedeth (on the) wind, and followeth heat. All day he multiplieth leasing, and destroying; and he made bond of peace with Assyrians, and bare oil into Egypt. (Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth after the east wind. All day they multiplieth lies, and destruction; and they made a covenant of peace with Assyria, and carried tributes of oil to Egypt.)

² Therefore the doom of the Lord is with Judah, and visiting is on Jacob; by the ways of him, and by the findings of him, he shall yield to him. (And so the Lord hath a judgement to bring against Judah, and Jacob shall be punished; yea, because of their ways, and their deeds, the Lord shall yield vengeance unto them.)

³ In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his strength he wrestled with the angel.

⁴ And he was strong to the angel, and was comforted [And he had victory at the angel, and he was comforted]; he wept, and prayed (to) him; in Bethel he found him, and there he spake with us. (And he was strong against the angel/And he fought against the angel, and was the stronger; and he wept, and prayed to him; yea, he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with him.)

⁵ And the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, is the memorial of him. (With the Lord God of hosts, yea, the Lord is his name.)

⁶ And thou shalt turn (again) to thy God. Keep thou mercy and doom, and hope thou ever[more] in thy God. (And thou shalt return to thy God. Practise thou love and justice/Practise thou love and judgement, and hope thou forevermore in thy God.)

⁷ Canaan loved false challenge, a guileful balance in his hand. (The merchant loved false practises, yea, a deceitful balance was in his hands.)

⁸ And Ephraim said, Nevertheless I am made rich, I have found an idol to me; all my travails shall not find to me the wickedness, which I sinned. (And Ephraim said, Nevertheless I am made rich, I have made my fortune; and in all my labours no one shall not find any wickedness in me, by which I have sinned.)

⁹ And I am thy Lord God from the land of Egypt; yet I shall make thee to sit in tabernacles, as in the days of feast. (And I am the Lord thy God since thy days in the land of Egypt; and I shall make thee to sit in tents again, like in the old days.)

¹⁰ And I spake by prophets, and I multiplied vision, either prophesy, and I was likened in the hand of (the) prophets. (And I spoke by prophets, and I multiplied visions, or prophesies, and I used likenesses, or parables, in the hands of the prophets.)

¹¹ If Gilead worshippeth an idol, therefore they err in vain offering to oxes in Gilgal; for why and the altars of them shall be as heaps on the furrows of the field.

¹² Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and served, either kept (sheep) for a wife. (Jacob fled into the country of Syria, or Aram, and then Israel served a man in order to get a wife, yea, served him, and kept sheep, for a wife.)

¹³ But by a prophet the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was kept (safe). (But by a prophet the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet they were kept alive.)

¹⁴ Ephraim stirred me to wrathfulness in his bitternesses, and the blood of him shall come on him; and his Lord shall restore to him the shame of him. (Ephraim stirred me to bitter anger, and his blood shall come upon him; and his Lord shall return his shame unto him.)

13 For Ephraim spake, hideousness assailed Israel; and he trespassed in Baal, and was dead. (For when the people of Ephraim spoke, fear, or terror, assailed the other Israelites; and they trespassed by worshipping Baal, and many died.)

² And now they added to do sin, and made to them a molten image of their silver, as the likeness of idols; all is the making of craftsmen. To these they say, A! ye men, offer, and worship calves. (And they added to do more sin, and made for themselves a cast image, and idols made out of silver; yea, all the making of craftsmen. To whom they say, O! ye men, offer to these, and worship the calves.)

³ Therefore they shall be as a morrowtide cloud, and as the dew of morrowtide, that passeth forth, as dust ravished by whirlwind from the cornfloor, and as smoke of a chimney. (And so they shall be like a morning cloud, and like the morning dew, that passeth away, and like the dust that is taken up by the whirlwind from the threshing floor, and like the smoke out of a chimney.)

⁴ Forsooth I am thy Lord God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt not know God, except me, and no saviour is, except me. (But I am the Lord thy God since thy days in the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no other god, except me, and there is no other saviour, except me.)

⁵ I knew thee in the desert, in the land of wilderness.

⁶ By their pastures they were filled, and had abundance; they raised [up] their heart, and forgat me (then they raised up their hearts, and forgot me).

⁷ And I shall be as a lioness to them, as a leopard in the way of Assyrians. (And I shall be like a lioness to them, I shall watch them like a leopard by the wayside.)

⁸ I as a female bear, when the whelps be ravished, shall meet them; and shall break the inner things of the maw of them. And I as a lion shall waste them there; a beast of the field shall rend them. (I shall meet them like a female bear, robbed of her cubs, and I shall break the inner things of their maw/and I shall tear apart their innards. And like a lion I shall destroy them there; and I shall tear them apart like a wild beast.)

⁹ Israel, thy perdition is of thee; thine help is only of me. (Israel, thy perdition is from me; now who can help thee?/and now only I can help thee!)

¹⁰ Where is thy king? mostly save he thee now in all thy cities; and where be thy judges, of which thou saidest, Give thou to me a king and princes? (Where is thy king now? let him save thee in all thy cities; and where be thy rulers, of whom thou saidest, Give thou me a king and princes?)

¹¹ I shall give to thee a king in my strong vengeance, and I shall take away in mine indignation. (I gave thee a king in my strong vengeance, and then in my indignation I took him away.)

¹² The wickedness of Ephraim is bound together; his sin is hid. (The wickedness of Ephraim is recorded; and the records of his sins be hidden away.)

¹³ The sorrows of a woman travailing of child shall come to him; he is a son not wise. For now he shall not stand in the defouling of sons. (The sorrows of a woman labouring with child shall come to him; he is not a wise son, for he would not leave the place of his conceiving.)

¹⁴ I shall deliver them from the hand of death, and I shall again-buy them from death. Thou death, I shall be thy death; thou hell, I shall be thy morsel. Comfort is hid from mine eyes, (But I shall not save, or rescue, them from the hand of death, and I shall not buy them back from death. O death, bring on thy death; O Sheol/O grave, bring on thy destruction. Mercy is hid from my eyes,)

¹⁵ for he shall part betwixt brethren. The Lord shall bring a burning wind, going up from desert; and it shall make dry the veins thereof, and it shall make desolate the well(s) thereof; and he shall ravish the treasure of each desirable vessel. (and I shall divide between brothers. Yea, the Lord shall bring in a burning wind, going up from the desert; and it shall dry up their springs, and make their wells desolate; and it shall take away all their valuable treasures.)

¹⁶ (Let) Samaria perish, for it stirred his God to bitterness; perish it by sword. The little children of them be hurtled down, and the women with child thereof be carved. (And so Samaria shall perish, for she stirred her God to bitterness; she shall perish by the sword. Their little children shall be hurtled down, and their women with child shall be carved, or cut, up.)

14 Israel, be thou turned again to thy Lord God, for thou falledest down in thy wickedness. (Israel, return thou to the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen down in thy wickedness.)

² Take ye words with you, and be ye turned again to the Lord; and say ye to him, Do thou away all wickedness, and take thou good; and we shall yield the calves of our lips. (Make ye your words ready, and return to the Lord; and say ye to him, Do thou away all our wickedness, and accept our prayers; and we shall give, or offer, sacrifices with our lips.)

³ Assur shall not save us, we shall not go upon horse; and we shall no more say, Our gods be the works of our hands; for thou shalt have mercy on that motherless child, which is in thee. (Assyria shall not save us, and we shall not go on horses; we shall no more say to the works of our hands, Ye be our gods; for only in thee is there mercy, or love, for the motherless child.)

⁴ (And the Lord saith,) I shall make whole the sorrows of them; I shall love them willfully (I shall love them willingly), for my strong vengeance is turned away from them. [I shall heal the contrition of them; I shall love them of my free will, for my strong vengeance is turned away from them.]

⁵ I shall be as dew, and Israel shall burgeon as a lily. And the root thereof shall break out as of the Lebanon; (I shall be like the dew, and Israel shall flower like a lily. And it shall be rooted like the mighty trees of Lebanon;)

⁶ the branches thereof shall go (forth). And the glory thereof shall be as an olive tree, and the odour thereof shall be as of the Lebanon. (and its branches shall go forth. And its glory shall be like an olive tree, and its aroma shall be like the trees of Lebanon.)

⁷ They shall be turned again, and sit in the shadow of him; they shall live by wheat, and shall burgeon as a vine. The memorial thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. (The people shall return, and shall sit under my shadow; they shall grow an abundance of corn, and shall flower like a vine. They shall be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.)

⁸ Ephraim, what shall idols do more to me? I shall hear him, and I shall dress him as a green fir tree. Thy fruit is found of me. (What more shall Ephraim, or the people of Israel, have to do with idols? Now I shall hear them, and I shall shelter them like a green fir tree. Remember, thy fruit cometh from me.)

⁹ Who is wise, and shall understand these things? who is understanding, and shall know these things? For the ways of the Lord be rightful, and just men shall go in those; but trespassers shall fall in those. (Those who be wise, shall understand these things; and those who have understanding, shall know these things. For the ways of the Lord be right, and the righteous, or the just, shall walk in them; but sinners shall fall in them.)