Study Desk

^(C1)Listen to the word of the LORD, you sons of Israel, Because the LORD has a ^(C2)case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is ^(C3)no ^(F1)faithfulness, nor ^(F2)loyalty, Nor ^(C4)knowledge of God in the land.

There is ^(C1)oath-taking, ^(F1)(C2)denial, ^(C3)murder, ^(C4)stealing, and ^(C5)adultery. They employ violence, so that ^(C6)bloodshed ^(F2)follows bloodshed.

Therefore the land ^(C1)mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, And even the fish of the sea ^(F1)disappear.

Yet let no one ^(F1)(C1)find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who ^(C2)contend with a priest.

So you will ^(C1)stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your ^(C2)mother.

^(C1)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have ^(C2)rejected knowledge, I also will ^(C3)reject you from being My priest. Since you have ^(C4)forgotten the ^(C5)Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

The more they ^(C1)multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will ^(C2)change their glory into shame.

They ^(C1)feed on the ^(F1)sin of My people, And ^(C2)long for their wrongdoing.

And it will be, like people, ^(C1)like priest; So I will ^(C2)punish them for their ways And repay them for their deeds.

^(C1)They will eat, but not have enough; They will ^(C2)play the prostitute, but not ^(F1)increase, Because they ^(C3)gave up devoting themselves to the LORD.

^(F1)Infidelity, ^(C1)wine, and new wine take away the ^(F2)understanding.

My people ^(C1)consult their wooden idol, and their diviner's wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing ^(F1)from their God.

They offer sacrifices on the ^(C1)tops of the mountains And ^(F1)(C2)burn incense on the hills, ^(C3)Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your ^(F2)brides commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Or your ^(F1)brides when they commit adultery, Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes And offer sacrifices with ^(C1)temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined.

Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Judah must not become guilty; Also you are not to go to ^(C1)Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth-aven ^(C2)And take the oath: "As the LORD lives!"

Since Israel is ^(C1)stubborn Like a stubborn cow, ^(F1)Will the LORD now ^(C2)pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?

Ephraim is allied with ^(C1)idols; ^(C2)Leave him alone.

Their liquor is gone, They prostitute themselves continually; ^(F1)(C1)Their ^(F2)rulers dearly love shame.

^(C1)The wind wraps them in its wings, And they will be ^(F1)put to shame because of their sacrifices.

Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, you of the house of the king! For the judgment applies to you, Because you have been a ^(C1)trap at Mizpah, And a net spread out on Tabor.

And the ^(C1)rebels have ^(C2)gone deep in ^(F1)depravity, But I will discipline all of them.

I ^(C1)know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; Because now, Ephraim, you have been unfaithful, Israel has defiled itself.

Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a ^(C1)spirit of ^(F1)infidelity is within them, And they ^(C2)do not know the LORD.

Moreover, the ^(C1)pride of Israel testifies against him, And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their wrongdoing; ^(C2)Judah also has stumbled with them.

They will ^(C1)go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will ^(C2)not find Him; He has ^(C3)withdrawn from them.

They have ^(C1)dealt treacherously with the LORD, For they have given birth to ^(F1)(C2)illegitimate children. Now the ^(C3)new moon will devour them with their ^(F2)land.

^(C1)Blow the horn in ^(C2)Gibeah, And the trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at Beth-aven: "^(C3)Behind you, Benjamin!"

Ephraim will become a ^(C1)desolation in the ^(C2)day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I ^(C3)make known what is trustworthy.

The leaders of Judah have become like those who ^(C1)displace a boundary marker; On them I will ^(C2)pour out My anger ^(C3)like water.

Ephraim is ^(C1)oppressed, broken by judgment, ^(C2)Because he was determined to follow ^(F1)man's command.

Therefore I am like a ^(C1)moth to Ephraim, And like rottenness to the house of Judah.

When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his ^(F1)sore, Ephraim then went to ^(C1)Assyria And sent word to ^(F2)(C2)King Jareb. But he is ^(C3)unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your ^(F1)sore.

For I will be ^(C1)like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. ^(C2)I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be ^(C3)no one to rescue.

I will go away and return to My place Until they ^(F1)(C1)acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their distress they will ^(C2)search for Me.

"^(C1)Come, let's return to the LORD. For ^(C2)He has torn us, but ^(C3)He will heal us; He has ^(F1)wounded us, but He will ^(C4)bandage us.

-"He will ^(C1)revive us after two days; He will ^(C2)raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.

-"So let's ^(C1)learn, let's press on to know the LORD. His ^(C2)appearance is as sure as the dawn; And He will come to us like the ^(C3)rain, As the spring rain waters the earth."

What shall I do with you, ^(C1)Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Judah? For your loyalty is like a ^(C2)morning cloud, And like the dew which goes away early.

Therefore I have ^(C1)cut them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the ^(C2)words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that ^(F1)shines.

For ^(C1)I ^(F1)desire loyalty ^(C2)rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

But ^(C1)like ^(F1)Adam they have ^(C2)violated the covenant; There they have ^(C3)dealt treacherously with Me.

^(C1)Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with ^(C2)bloody footprints.

And as a ^(C1)band of robbers lie in wait for a person, So a band of priests ^(C2)murder on the way to Shechem; Certainly they have committed an act of ^(C3)infamy.

In the house of Israel I have seen a ^(C1)horrible thing; Ephraim's ^(C2)infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.

Also, Judah, there is a ^(C1)harvest appointed for you, When I ^(C2)restore the fortunes of My people.

When I ^(C1)would heal Israel, The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they practice ^(C2)deception; The thief enters, A band of ^(C3)robbers attack outside,

And they do not ^(F1)consider in their hearts That I ^(C1)remember all their wickedness. Now their ^(C2)deeds surround them; They are before My face.

^(C1)With their wickedness they make the ^(C2)king happy, And the officials with their ^(C3)lies.

They are ^(C1)all adulterers, Like an oven heated by the baker, Who stops ^(F1)stoking the fire From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.

On the ^(F1)day of our king, the officials ^(C1)became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with ^(F2)(C2)scoffers,

For their hearts are like an ^(C1)oven As they approach their ^(F1)plotting; Their ^(F2)anger ^(F3)smolders all night, In the morning it burns like flaming fire.

All of them are hot like an oven, And they consume their ^(C1)rulers; All their kings have fallen. ^(C2)None of them calls on Me.

Ephraim is himself ^(C1)thrown about with the ^(F1)nations; Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.

^(C1)Strangers devour his strength, Yet he ^(C2)does not know it; Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know it.

Though the ^(C1)pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet ^(C2)they have not returned to the LORD their God, Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.

So ^(C1)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, ^(C2)without ^(F1)sense; They call to ^(C3)Egypt, they go to ^(C4)Assyria.

When they go, I will ^(C1)spread My net over them; I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will ^(C2)discipline them in accordance with the ^(F1)proclamation to their assembly.

^(C1)Woe to them, for they have ^(C2)strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I ^(C3)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.

And ^(C1)they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they ^(F1)(C2)assemble themselves, They ^(C3)turn against Me.

Although I trained and strengthened their arms, Yet they ^(C1)devise evil against Me.

They turn, but not ^(F1)upward, They are like a ^(C1)loose bow; Their officials will fall by the sword Because of the ^(F2)(C2)insolence of their tongue. This will be their ^(C3)derision in the land of Egypt.