Beginning
Israel Has Trusted Wrong Things
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips [C to warn of danger or call to battle]!
The enemy ·swoops down on [or circles over] the Lord’s ·people [or temple; L house] like an eagle.
The Israelites have broken my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and have ·turned [rebelled] against my ·teachings [law; L Torah].
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we in Israel ·know [acknowledge] you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good,
so the enemy will ·chase [pursue] them.
4 They ·chose their own [appointed; enthroned] kings
·without asking my permission [L but not from me].
They chose their own ·leaders [princes],
people I did not ·know [acknowledge; approve].
They made their silver and gold into idols,
and for all this they will be destroyed.
5 I ·hate [have rejected] ·the calf-shaped idol of Israel [L your calf, Samaria; Ex. 32; 1 Kin. 12:26–30]!
·I am very angry with the people [L My anger burns against them].
How long will they remain ·unclean [impure; guilty]?
6 The idol is something a craftsman made;
it is not God.
·Israel’s calf-shaped idol [L The calf of Samaria; v. 5]
will surely be smashed to pieces.
7 “·Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind [L They sow the wind],
·but they will harvest a storm [L and reap the whirlwind].
Like a stalk with no head of grain,
it produces ·nothing [L no flour].
Even if it produced something,
·other nations [foreigners] would ·eat [devour] it.
8 Israel is ·eaten [swallowed] up;
the people are ·mixed among [L among] the other nations
and have become ·useless to me [a useless pot/utensil/vessel].
9 Israel is like a wild donkey ·all by itself [wandering alone].
They have ·run [L gone up] to Assyria;
·They have hired other nations to protect them [L Ephraim has hired lovers; or Ephraim has sold herself to lovers].
10 Although Israel ·is mixed [or hired; or hired herself out] among the nations,
I will gather them together.
They will ·become weaker and weaker [begin to waste away]
·as they suffer under [from the burden/oppression of] the ·great king of Assyria [L king of princes].
11 “Although ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] built more altars to remove sin,
they have become altars for sinning.
12 I have written many ·teachings [laws; instructions] for them,
but they think the teachings are ·strange and foreign [alien; irrelevant].
13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts
and eat the meat,
but the Lord ·is not pleased with [does not accept] them.
He remembers ·the evil they have done [their wickedness/iniquity],
and he will punish them for their sins.
They will ·be slaves again as they were in [L return to] Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and has built palaces;
Judah has built many ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
But I will send fire on their cities
and ·destroy [L it will devour/consume] their ·strong buildings [strongholds; citadels].”
Israel’s Punishment
9 Israel, do not rejoice;
don’t shout for joy as the other nations do.
You have been ·like a prostitute against [unfaithful to] your God.
You love the pay of prostitutes on every threshing floor.
2 But the threshing floor and the winepress will not feed the people,
and ·there won’t be enough new wine [or the new wine will deceive them].
3 The people will not stay in the Lord’s land.
·Israel [L Ephraim] will return ·to being captives as they were in [L to] Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat ·food that they are not allowed to eat [L unclean food; C food forbidden by the law; Lev. 11].
4 The Israelites will not ·give [pour out] offerings of wine to the Lord;
and their sacrifices will not please him.
Their sacrifices will be like ·food that is eaten at a funeral [mourners bread; Deut. 26:14];
it is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean [C because touched by someone who has touched a dead body; Num. 19:22].
Their food will only satisfy their hunger;
·they cannot sacrifice it in [L it will not come into] the Temple.
5 What will you do then on the day of ·feasts [your appointed festivals]
and on the day of the Lord’s festival?
6 [L Look; T Behold] Even if the people ·are not destroyed [escape destruction],
Egypt will ·capture [or receive; L gather] them;
Memphis [C a city in Egypt famous for its tombs] will bury them.
·Weeds [Briers; Nettles] will grow over their silver treasures,
and thorns will ·drive them out of [possess; inherit] their tents.
7 The time of punishment has come,
the ·time to pay for sins [L days of recompense/vengeance].
Let Israel know this:
·You think the [L The] prophet is a fool,
and ·you say the [L the] ·spiritual person [Spirit-inspired person] is crazy.
·You [or This is because you] have sinned very much,
and your hatred is great.
8 ·Is Israel a watchman?
Are God’s people prophets? [or The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim on God’s behalf]
·Everywhere Israel goes, traps are set for him [or …yet traps/snares await him on all his paths].
·He is an enemy [or …and hatred even] in God’s house.
9 ·The people of Israel [L They] have gone deep into ·sin [depravity; corruption]
as ·the people of Gibeah did [L in the days of Gibeah; Judg. 19–20].
The Lord will remember ·the evil things they have done [their wickedness/iniquity],
and he will punish their sins.
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the ·desert [wilderness].
Your ·ancestors [fathers; forefathers] were like
finding the first figs on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they ·began worshiping an idol [L consecrated/dedicated themselves to a shameful thing; Num. 25:3–18],
and they became as ·hateful [detestable] as the thing they ·worshiped [L loved].
11 ·Israel’s [L Ephraim’s; 4:17] glory will fly away like a bird;
there will be no more pregnancy, no more births, no more conception.
12 But even if ·the Israelites [L they] bring up children,
I will take them all away.
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] them
when I ·go away [turn away; depart] from them!
13 I have seen Israel, like ·Tyre [or a young palm],
·given [L planted in] a pleasant place.
But ·the people of Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] will soon bring out
their children to ·be killed [slaughter; or the slayer].”
14 Lord, ·give them what they should have [L give them].
What will you give them?
·Make their women unable to have children [L Give them wombs that miscarry];
give them ·dried-up breasts that cannot feed their babies [L dry breasts].
15 “The Israelites were very wicked in Gilgal [C a center of false worship in Israel; 4:15],
so I have hated them there.
Because of the sinful things they have done,
I will ·force them to leave [drive them out of] my land.
I will no longer love them;
their ·leaders [princes] ·have turned against me [are rebels/rebellious].
16 ·Israel [L Ephraim] is ·beaten down [struck down; or blighted];
its root is ·dying [withered; dried up], and it ·has [bears] no fruit.
If they have more children,
I will kill the ·children they love [L cherished offspring of their womb].”
17 My God will reject them,
because they have not obeyed him;
they will ·wander [be wanderers/fugitives] among the nations.
Israel Will Pay for Sin
10 Israel is like a ·large [spreading; lush; luxuriant] vine
that produced plenty of fruit.
As ·the people became richer [L his fruit increased],
they built more altars [C for idols].
As their land ·became better [prospered; improved],
they ·put up better [or adorned their] ·stone pillars to honor gods [sacred pillars].
2 Their heart was ·false [or divided; fickle],
and now they must ·pay for [bear] their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars;
he will destroy their holy stone pillars.
3 Then they will say, “We have no king,
because we didn’t ·honor [revere; fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7].
As for the king,
·he couldn’t do anything [L what could he do…?] for us.”
4 With words that mean nothing they make ·false [empty] ·promises [oaths]
and ·agreements [covenants; treaties] which they don’t keep.
So ·people sue each other in court [L lawsuits/judgments spring up];
they are like poisonous weeds growing in [L the rows/furrows of] a plowed field.
5 The people from ·Israel [L Samaria; C the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel] are worried about
the ·calf-shaped idol [calf; heifer; 1 Kin. 12:28] at Beth Aven [4:15].
The people will ·cry about [mourn over] it,
and the ·priests [idol-priests] will ·cry about [lament/wail over] it.
They used to ·shout for joy [rejoice] about its glory,
but ·it has been taken from them into exile [or its glory has departed].
6 It will be carried off to Assyria
as a gift to ·the great king [or King Jareb; C this may be a title or a personal name].
·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] will be disgraced,
and ·the people [L Israel] will be ashamed for ·not obeying [or its counsel; or its wooden idol].
7 ·Israel [L Samaria; v. 5] will be destroyed;
its king will be like a ·chip of wood [twig] floating on the water.
8 The ·places of false worship [L high places of wickedness; or high places of Aven; v. 5; 4:15] will be destroyed,
the places where Israel sins.
Thorns and ·weeds [thistles] will grow up
and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us! [Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16]”
9 “Israel, you have sinned since the ·time [L days] of Gibeah [9:9; Judg. 19–21],
and ·the people there have continued sinning [L there they have remained; or there they took their stand].
·But war will surely overwhelm [L Did not war overtake…?] them in Gibeah,
because of the evil they have done there.
10 When I ·am ready [desire; please],
I will come to ·punish [discipline] them.
Nations will come together against them,
and they will be ·punished [bound in chains] for their ·double [L two] sins [C could mean “twice the punishment” (Is. 40:2) or the two sins of rejecting God and his anointed Davidic king].
11 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] is like a well-trained ·young cow [heifer]
that likes to thresh grain.
I will put a ·yoke [or a fine yoke] on her ·neck [or fair neck]
and ·make her work hard in the field [drive Ephraim hard].
Israel will plow,
and Judah will break up the ground.
12 I said, ‘·Plant goodness [Sow righteousness],
·harvest the fruit of loyalty [reap mercy/lovingkindness],
·plow the new ground of knowledge [L break up the unplowed/fallow ground].
·Look for [or For it is time to seek] the Lord until he comes
and ·pours goodness on you like water [L rains/showers righteousness/justice on you].’
13 But you have plowed ·evil [wickedness; iniquity]
and ·harvested [reaped] ·trouble [evil; injustice];
you have eaten the fruit of ·your lies [deception; treachery].
Because you have trusted in your own ·power [or chariots]
and your many ·soldiers [warriors],
14 ·your people will hear [L against your people will rise] the ·noise [roar; tumult] of battle,
and all your ·strong, walled cities [fortresses] will be destroyed.
It will be like the time King Shalman
destroyed Beth Arbel in battle [2 Kin. 17:3],
when mothers and their children were ·bashed to death [dashed to pieces].
15 The same will happen to you, ·people of Bethel [L Bethel],
because ·you did so much evil [your wickedness is great].
·When the sun comes up [or When judgment day dawns; or As swiftly as the dawn; L At dawn],
the king of Israel will ·die [L be completely cut off].
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a ·child [youth], I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt [C the Exodus; Ex. 4:22; Matt. 2:15].
2 But when I called ·the people of Israel [L them],
they went away from me.
They offered sacrifices to the Baals
and burned incense to ·the idols [images].
3 It was I who taught ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] to walk,
and I took them by the arms,
but they did not ·understand [or acknowledge]
that I had healed them.
4 I led them with cords of ·human kindness [humanity; or leather],
with ropes of love.
I lifted ·the yoke from their neck [or them like a little child to my cheek]
and bent down and fed them.
5 “·The Israelites will become captives again, as they were in [or Will they not return to…? or They will not return to] Egypt,
and ·Assyria will [or will not Assyria…?] become their king,
because they refuse to turn back to God.
6 ·War will sweep through [L A sword will slash/flash in] their cities
and will destroy ·them [their gates; or their priests]
and ·kill [devour] them because of their ·wicked plans [counsels].
7 My people ·have made up their minds [are determined]
to ·turn away [desert; backslide] from me.
·The prophets call them to turn to me [or They call me Most High; or They call to Baal],
but ·none of them honors me at all [or I will not exalt them; or he will never exalt them].
8 “·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17], how can I give you up?
How can I ·give you away [hand you over], Israel?
·I don’t want to [L How can I…?] make you like Admah
or treat you like Zeboiim [C two cities destroyed together with Sodom and Gomorrah; Gen. 19:24–25; Deut. 4:25–31].
My heart ·beats for you [or has changed within me; or is torn within me],
and my ·love for you stirs up my pity [compassion is aroused/stirred up/kindled].
9 I won’t ·punish you in my [unleash my burning] anger,
and I won’t destroy ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] again.
I am God and not a human;
I am the Holy One, and I am among you.
I will not come against ·you in anger [you with terror; or your cities].
10 They will ·go after [follow] the Lord,
and he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will ·hurry [L come trembling] to him from the west [C God’s people would return not only from Babylon and Assyria in the east but from every direction].
11 They will come ·swiftly [or trembling]
like birds from Egypt
and like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them again in their homes,”
says the Lord.
The Lord Is Against Israel
12 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] has surrounded me with lies;
the ·people have made [L house of Israel with] evil plans.
·And [or But] Judah ·turns against [or roams away from; or still walks with] God,
·the faithful [or and is faithful to the] Holy One.
12 ·What Israel does is as useless as chasing [L Ephraim feeds on] the wind;
he chases the east wind all day [Eccl. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26].
They ·tell more and more lies
and do more and more violence [multiply lies and violence].
They make ·agreements [a covenant/treaty] with Assyria,
and they send ·a gift of olive oil [L oil] to Egypt [C as tribute or to gain support].
2 The Lord also has ·some things [a case/lawsuit; or a dispute; 4:1] against Judah.
He will punish ·Israel [L Jacob] for what they have done;
he will ·give [repay] them ·what they deserve [according to their deeds].
3 ·Their ancestor Jacob [L He] ·held on to his brother’s heel [or struggled with/supplanted his brother]
·while the two of them were being born [L in the womb; Gen. 25:19–26].
·When he grew to be a man [L In his strength/manhood],
he ·wrestled [struggled] with God.
4 When Jacob ·wrestled [struggled] with the angel and ·won [prevailed],
he ·cried [wept] and ·asked for his blessing [pleaded for/sought his favor; Gen. 32:22–32].
Later, ·God met with him [he found him] at Bethel
and spoke with him there [Gen. 35:1].
5 It was the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts];
the Lord is his ·great [memorial; memorable] name.
6 You must return to your God;
·love him, do what is just [or act with love and justice],
and always ·trust in him as [wait for] your God.
7 The merchants use dishonest scales;
they like to ·cheat people [oppress].
8 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] said, “I am rich! I ·am someone with power [have made my fortune]!”
·All their money will do them no good
because of the sins they have done [or “With all the wealth I’ve gained, no one can accuse me of sin”; C either self-vindication (continuing the quotation), or the prophet’s pronouncement of guilt].
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
·who brought you [or ever since you came] out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
as you used to do on ·worship days [the appointed festivals; C the feast of tabernacles, which commemorated the wilderness wanderings].
10 I spoke to the prophets
and gave them many visions;
through them, I ·taught my lessons [spoke in parables; or spoke oracles of doom] to you.”
11 ·The people of Gilead are evil [or Is Gilead wicked? or In Gilead there was idolatry],
they ·are worth nothing [are worthless; or will come to nothing].
·People [or Do they…?] sacrifice bulls at Gilgal [4:15].
But their altars will become like piles of stone
in a plowed field.
12 ·Your ancestor Jacob [L Jacob] fled to ·northwest Mesopotamia [L Aram; Gen. 28:5]
where he ·worked [served; C his uncle Laban] to get a wife [C Rachel (and Leah); Gen. 29:20, 28];
he tended sheep to pay for her.
13 Later the Lord used a prophet [C Moses; Deut. 18:15]
to bring ·Jacob’s descendants [L Israel] out of Egypt;
he used a prophet
to ·take care of [tend; preserve; guard] the Israelites.
14 But ·the Israelites [L Ephraim; 4:17] ·made the Lord angry [bitterly provoked the Lord];
So the Lord ·will make them pay for the blood they have shed [L leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed]
and for the ·disgraceful things they have done [or contempt they have shown].
The Final Word Against Israel
13 ·People used to fear the tribe of Ephraim [L When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling];
they were ·important people [L exalted] in Israel.
But they sinned by worshiping Baal,
·so they must die [L and died].
2 But they still keep on sinning more and more.
They make ·idols of their silver [metal images],
idols that are ·cleverly [skillfully] made,
the work of a craftsman.
·Yet the people of Israel say to each other [or It is said of them],
“·Kiss those calf idols and sacrifice to them [or Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!; or They offer human sacrifices and kiss calf-idols].”
3 So those people will be like the morning mist;
they will disappear like the morning dew.
They will be like chaff ·blown [that swirls away] from the threshing floor,
like smoke going out a window.
4 “I, the Lord, have been your God
since you were in the land of Egypt.
You ·should have known no [must not acknowledge any] other God except me [Ex. 20:3].
·I am the only one who saves [L There is no savior but me].
5 I ·cared for them [L knew you] in the ·desert [wilderness]
·where it was hot and dry [in the land of drought].
6 I gave them ·food [pasture], and they became full and satisfied.
But then they became too proud and forgot me.
7 That is why I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard ·waiting [lurking] by the ·road [path].
8 I will ·attack [meet them] like a bear robbed of her cubs,
ripping their ·bodies [chest] open.
I will devour them like a lion
and tear them apart like a wild animal.
9 “Israel, I will destroy you.
·Who will be your helper then [or …because you are against me, your helper]?
10 ·What good [L Where] is your king?
Can he save you in any of your towns?
·What good are [L Where are] your leaders
about whom you said, ‘Give us a king and leaders’?
11 So I gave you a king, but only in anger,
and I took him away in my ·great anger [wrath].
12 The ·sins [guilt; iniquity] of Israel are ·on record [bound up in a scroll],
stored away, waiting for punishment.
13 The pain of birth will come for him,
but he is like a ·foolish [senseless; unwise] baby
who won’t come out of its mother’s womb.
14 Will I save them from ·the place of the dead [the power of the grave; L the hand of Sheol]?
Will I ·rescue [redeem] them from death?
·Where are [or Bring on…!] your plagues, death?
·Where is [or Bring on…!] your ·pain [destruction], ·place of death [O grave]?
·I will show them no mercy [L Pity/compassion is hidden from my eyes].
15 ·Israel is doing well among the nations [L He is fruitful among his brothers],
but the Lord will send a wind from the east,
coming from the ·desert [wilderness],
that will dry up his springs and wells of water.
He will ·destroy [plunder] from their treasure houses ·everything of value [every precious/desirable thing].
16 ·The nation of Israel [L Samaria; 10:5] will ·be ruined [or bear its guilt],
because it ·fought [rebelled] against God.
·The people of Israel will die in war [L They will fall by the sword];
their ·children [infants; little ones] will be ·torn to [dashed in] pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
Israel Returns to God
14 Israel, return to the Lord your God,
because your sins have made you ·fall [stumble].
2 ·Come back [Return] to the Lord
and ·say these words to him [L take words with you]:
“Take away all our sin
and ·kindly receive us [accept our prayers],
·and we will keep the promises we made to you [L so that we may offer the sacrifices of our lips; or so that we may offer our lips as sacrificial bulls].
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor will we ·trust in our [mount and ride] horses.
We will not say again, ‘Our gods,’
to the things our hands have made.
You show ·mercy [compassion] to ·orphans [the fatherless].”
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive ·them for leaving me [their apostasy/waywardness]
and will love them freely,
because ·I am not angry with them anymore [L my anger has turned away from them].
5 I will be like the dew to Israel,
and they will blossom like a lily.
Like the cedar trees in Lebanon,
·their roots will be firm [they will take root].
6 ·They will be like spreading branches [L His shoots will spread out],
like the beautiful olive trees
and the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.
7 ·The people of Israel will again live under my protection [or People will again live under Israel’s protection/shade].
They will ·grow [flourish] like the grain,
they will bloom like a vine,
and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
8 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17], have nothing to do with idols.
I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers and ·watches over [cares for] you.
I am like a ·green [flourishing; evergreen] ·pine tree [or juniper; or cypress];
your ·blessings [L fruit] come from me.”
9 ·A wise person will know these things [L Who is wise? Let him understand these things],
·and an understanding person will take them to heart [L Who is discerning? Let him understand them].
The Lord’s ways are right.
·Good people [The righteous] ·live by following [L walk in] them,
but ·those who turn against God [the rebellious/transgressors] ·die because of them [L stumble in them].
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