2  “As God lives, who has ^staken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has ^tmade my soul bitter,

3  as long as my breath is in me,

and ^uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4  my lips will not speak ^vfalsehood,

and my tongue will not utter ^vdeceit.

5  Far be it from me to say that you are right;

till I die I will not put away my ^wintegrity from me.

6  I ^xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart does not ^yreproach me for any of my days.

7  “Let my enemy be as the wicked,

and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

8  ^zFor what is the hope of the godless ^awhen God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

9  ^bWill God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

10  Will he ^ctake delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

11  I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

^dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12  Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;

why then have you become altogether vain?

13  ^e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

and the heritage that ^foppressors receive from the Almighty:

14  If his ^gchildren are multiplied, it is for ^hthe sword,

and his descendants have not enough bread.

15  Those who survive him the pestilence buries,

and his ⁱwidows do not weep.

16  Though he ^jheap up silver like dust,

and pile up clothing like clay,

17  he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,

and ^kthe innocent will divide the silver.

18  He builds his ^lhouse like a moth’s,

like ^ma booth that ⁿa watchman makes.

19  He goes to bed rich, but will ^odo so no more;

he opens his eyes, and ^phis wealth is gone.

20  ^qTerrors overtake him like ^ra flood;

in the night a whirlwind ^scarries him off.

21  ^tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;

it ^usweeps him out of his place.

22  It¹ hurls at him ^vwithout pity;

he flees from its² power in headlong flight.

23  It ^wclaps its hands at him

and ^xhisses at him from its place.

1  Rejoice not, O Israel!

Exult not like the peoples;

^efor you have played the whore, forsaking your God.

^fYou have loved a prostitute’s wages

on all threshing floors.

2  ^gThreshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

and ^gthe new wine shall fail them.

3  They shall not remain in ^hthe land of the Lord,

but ⁱEphraim shall return to Egypt,

and ^jthey shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

4  ^kThey shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

^land their sacrifices shall not please him.

It shall be like ^mmourners’ bread to them;

all who eat of it shall be defiled;

for their bread shall be for their hunger only;

ⁿit shall not come to the house of the Lord.

5  ^oWhat will you do on the day of the appointed festival,

and on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6  For behold, they are going away from destruction;

but ^pEgypt shall gather them;

Memphis shall bury them.

Nettles shall possess ^qtheir precious things of silver;

^rthorns shall be in their tents.

7  ^sThe days of punishment have come;

the days of recompense have come;

Israel shall know it.

^tThe prophet is a fool;

the man of the spirit is mad,

because of your great iniquity

and great hatred.

8  The prophet is ^uthe watchman of Ephraim with my God;

yet ^va fowler’s snare is on all his ways,

and hatred in the house of his God.

9  ^wThey have deeply corrupted themselves

as ^xin the days of Gibeah:

^whe will remember their iniquity;

he will punish their sins.

10  Like grapes in the wilderness,

^yI found Israel.

Like the first fruit on the fig tree

in its first season,

I saw your fathers.

But ^zthey came to Baal-peor

and ^aconsecrated themselves to the thing of shame,

and ^bbecame detestable like the thing they loved.

11  Ephraim’s ^cglory shall fly away like a bird—

^dno birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

12  ^eEven if they bring up children,

I will bereave them till none is left.

^fWoe to them

when ^gI depart from them!

13  Ephraim, ^has I have seen, was like a young palm¹ planted in a meadow;

but ^eEphraim must lead his children out to slaughter.²

14  Give them, O Lord—

what will you give?

Give them ⁱa miscarrying womb

and dry breasts.

15  Every evil of theirs is in ^jGilgal;

there I began to hate them.

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

I will drive them out of my house.

I will love them no more;

all ^ktheir princes are ^lrebels.

16  Ephraim is stricken;

^mtheir root is dried up;

they shall bear no fruit.

Even ⁿthough they give birth,

^eI will put their beloved children to death.

17  ^oMy God will reject them

because they have not listened to him;

^pthey shall be wanderers among the nations.

1  ^qIsrael is a luxuriant vine

that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased,

^rthe more altars he built;

as his country improved,

he improved his pillars.

2  Their heart is false;

now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord³ will break down their altars

and destroy their pillars.

3  For now they will say:

^s“We have no king,

for we do not fear the Lord;

and a king—what could he do for us?”

4  They utter ^tmere words;

with empty⁴ oaths they make covenants;

so ^ujudgment springs up like poisonous weeds

^vin the furrows of the field.

5  The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

for ^wthe calf⁵ of ^xBeth-aven.

Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—

those who rejoiced over it and ^yover its glory—

for it has departed⁶ from them.

6  ^zThe thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

as tribute to ^athe great king.⁷

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

and Israel shall be ashamed ^bof his idol.⁸

7  ^cSamaria’s king shall perish

like a twig on the face of the waters.

8  The high places of ^xAven, ^dthe sin of Israel,

shall be destroyed.

^eThorn and thistle shall grow up

on their altars,

and ^fthey shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

9  From ^gthe days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;

there they have continued.

Shall not the war against the unjust⁹ overtake them in Gibeah?

10  ^hWhen I please, ⁱI will discipline them,

and nations shall be gathered against them

when they are bound up for ^jtheir double iniquity.

11  Ephraim was a trained calf

that ^kloved to thresh,

and I spared her fair neck;

but I will put ^lEphraim to the yoke;

^lJudah must plow;

Jacob must harrow for himself.

12  ^mSow for yourselves righteousness;

reap steadfast love;

ⁿbreak up your fallow ground,

for it is the time to seek the Lord,

that he may come and ^orain righteousness upon you.

13  ^pYou have plowed iniquity;

you have reaped injustice;

you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your own way

and in the multitude of your warriors,

14  therefore ^qthe tumult of war shall arise among your people,

and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

as ^rShalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;

^smothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

15  Thus it shall be done to you, O ^tBethel,

because of your great evil.

At dawn ^athe king of Israel

shall be utterly cut off.

1  ^uWhen Israel was a child, ^vI loved him,

and out of Egypt I ^wcalled ^xmy son.

2  ^yThe more they were called,

the more they went away;

^zthey kept sacrificing to the Baals

and burning offerings to idols.

3  Yet it was ^aI who taught Ephraim to walk;

I took them up by their arms,

but they did not know that ^bI healed them.

4  ^cI led them with cords of kindness,¹⁰

with the bands of love,

and ^dI became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,

and ^eI bent down to them and fed them.

5  ^fThey shall not¹¹ return to the land of Egypt,

but ^gAssyria shall be their king,

^hbecause ⁱthey have refused to return to me.

6  ^jThe sword shall rage against their cities,

consume the bars of their gates,

and devour them ^kbecause of their own counsels.

7  My people are bent ^lon turning away from me,

and though ^mthey call out to the Most High,

he shall not raise them up at all.

8  How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel?

ⁿHow can I make you ^olike Admah?

How can I treat you ^olike Zeboiim?

^pMy heart recoils within me;

my compassion grows warm and tender.

9  I will not execute my burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim;

^qfor I am God and not a man,

^rthe Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.¹²

10  ^sThey shall go after the Lord;

^the will roar like a lion;

when he roars,

his children shall come trembling ^ufrom the west;

11  they shall come trembling like birds ^vfrom Egypt,

and ^wlike doves ^xfrom the land of Assyria,

and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.

12  ¹³ Ephraim ^yhas surrounded me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit,

but Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

1  Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues ^zthe east wind all day long;

they multiply ^yfalsehood and violence;

^athey make a covenant with Assyria,

and ^boil is carried to Egypt.

2  ^cThe Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

3  ^dIn the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

4  He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

^eHe met God¹⁴ at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

5  the Lord, the God of hosts,

^fthe Lord is his memorial name:

6  “So you, ^gby the help of your God, return,

^hhold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.”

7  A merchant, in whose hands are ⁱfalse balances,

he loves ^jto oppress.

8  Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^kI am rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors ^lthey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

9  ^mI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you ⁿdwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

10  ^oI spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied ^pvisions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

11  ^qIf there is iniquity in Gilead,

they shall surely come to nothing:

^rin Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

^stheir altars also are like stone heaps

^ton the furrows of the field.

12  ^uJacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel ^vserved for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

13  By ^wa prophet ^xthe Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

14  ^yEphraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord ^zwill leave his bloodguilt on him

^aand will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.