Study Desk

^(a)When Ephraim ^[a]spoke, there was trembling. He ^(b)exalted himself in Israel, But through ^(c)Baal he ^[b]did wrong and died.

And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves ^(d)molten images, Idols ^[c](e)skillfully made from their silver, All of them the ^(f)work of craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the ^[d]men who sacrifice kiss the ^(g)calves!"

Therefore they will be like the ^(h)morning cloud And like dew which ^[e]soon disappears, Like ⁽ⁱ⁾chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like ^(j)smoke from a ^[f]chimney.

Yet I have been the ^(k) Lord your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know ^(l)any god except Me, For there is no savior ^(m)besides Me.

I ^[g](n)cared for you in the wilderness, ^(o)In the land of drought.

As they had their pasture, they became ^(p)satisfied, And being satisfied, their ^(q)heart became proud; Therefore they ^(r)forgot Me.

So I will be ^(s)like a lion to them; Like a ^(t)leopard I will ^[h]lie in wait by the wayside.

I will encounter them ^(u)like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open ^[i]their chests; There I will also ^(v)devour them like a lioness, As a wild beast would tear them.

It is your destruction, O Israel, ^[j]That you are ^(w)against Me, against your ^(x)help.

Where now is your ^(y)king That he may save you in all your cities, And your ^(z)judges of whom you ^[k]requested, "Give me a king and princes"?

I ^(aa)gave you a king in My anger And ^(ab)took him away in My wrath.

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is ^(ac)stored up.

The pains of ^(ad)childbirth come upon him; He is ^(ae)not a wise son, For ^[l]it is not the time that he should ^(af)delay at the opening of the womb.

Shall I ^(ag)ransom them from the ^[m]power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? ^(ah)O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? ^(ai)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

Though he ^(aj)flourishes among the ^[n]reeds, An ^(ak)east wind will come, The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will ^(al)become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will ^(am)plunder his treasury of every precious article.

^[o]Samaria will be held ^(an)guilty, For she has ^(ao)rebelled against her God. ^(ap)They will fall by the ^(aq)sword, Their little ones will be ^(ar)dashed in pieces, And their pregnant ^(as)women will be ripped open.