Study Desk

But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies against him. Therefore Israel, and [especially] Ephraim, stumble and fall in their wickedness and guilt; Judah also has stumbled with them.

They will go with their flocks and with their herds To seek the LORD [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].

When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria [instead of the LORD] And sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. But he cannot heal you Nor will he cure you of your wound [received in judgment].

"Come and let us return [in repentance] to the LORD, For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

But they do not consider in their hearts (minds) That I remember [always] all their wickedness. Now their deeds surround and entangle them; They are before My face.

Woe (judgment is coming) to them, for they have wandered away from Me! Devastation is theirs, because they have rebelled and trespassed against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

They turn, but they do not turn upward to the Most High. They are like a poorly crafted bow [that misses the mark]; Their princes shall fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue. This will be cause for their mockery and disdain in the land of Egypt.

They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing]; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.

I wrote for him the ten thousand precepts of My law, But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].

As for My sacrificial offerings, They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it, But the LORD is not pleased with them and does not accept them. Now He will remember and take into account their wickedness and guilt, And punish them for their sins. They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].

For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces [and pagan temples], And Judah has built many fortified cities; But I will send a fire upon their cities so that it may consume their palaces and fortresses.

They will not remain in the land of the LORD, But Ephraim will return to [another] Egypt [in bondage] And they will eat [ceremonially] unclean food in Assyria.

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a [true] prophet [to warn the nation]; But the snare of a bird catcher was laid in all his paths. And there is only deep hostility in the house of his God (the land of Israel).

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight]; I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season, But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal], And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.

Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].

Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to tread out the grain, But I will come over her fair neck with a heavy yoke [for hard field work]. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow and Jacob will harrow and rake for himself.

Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them in My arms [nurturing the young nation]; But they did not know that I healed them.

They will not return to the land of Egypt, But Assyria will be their king [bringing them into captivity] Because they refused to return to Me.

But I have been the LORD your God since [you became a nation in] the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed and solemn festival.