Study Desk

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

Ephraim is allied with idols; Leave him alone.

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

They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.

They have dealt treacherously with the LORD, For they have given birth to illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land.

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

But like Adam they have violated the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously with Me.

Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints.

With their wickedness they make the king happy, And the officials with their lies.

On the day of our king, the officials became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers,

Ephraim is himself thrown about with the nations; Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.

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

They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed officials, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, So that they will be eliminated.

Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations! For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God. You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants; And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

The thing itself will be brought to Assyria As a gift of tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame, And Israel will be ashamed of its own plan.

Samaria will be destroyed with her king, Like a twig on the surface of the water.

Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness; Harvest in accordance with kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.

An uproar will arise among your people, And all your fortresses will be destroyed, As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle, When mothers were slaughtered with their children.