Study Desk

"And I will destroy her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, 'They are my wages for prostitution Which my lovers have given me.' And I will turn them into a forest, And the animals of the field will devour them.

"Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will respond there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she went up from the land of Egypt.

"On that day I will also make a covenant for them With the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, And the crawling things of the ground. And I will eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land, And will let them lie down in safety.

Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."

So I purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a homer and a lethech of barley.

For the sons of Israel will live for many days without a king or leader, without sacrifice or memorial stone, and without ephod or household idols.

Listen to the word of the LORD, you sons of Israel, Because the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land.

Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

My people 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 from their God.

Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn cow, Will the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?

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 trap at Mizpah, And a net spread out on Tabor.

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

Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is trustworthy.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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