1 when I heal Israel, l
the iniquity of Ephraim m and the crimes of Samaria n
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud; o
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside. p
2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil. q
Now their actions are all around them; r
they are right in front of my face.
Israel’s Corruption
3 They please the king with their evil, s
the princes with their lies. t
4 All of them commit adultery; u
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
the princes are sick with the heat of wine v—
there is a conspiracy with traitors. H
6 For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are as hot as an oven, w
and they consume their rulers. x
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on me. I
8 Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
9 Foreigners consume his strength, y
but he does not notice. z
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, J,a
yet they do not return to the LORD their God, b
and for all this, they do not seek him.
11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove; c
they call to Egypt, d and they go to Assyria. e
12 As they are going, I will spread my net over them; f
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches K their assembly.
The LORD’S Second Lament
13 Woe to them, g for they fled from me; h
destruction to them, for they rebelled against me!
Though I want to redeem them, i
they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry to me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves L,j for grain and new wine; k
they turn away from me.
15 I trained and strengthened their arms, l
but they plot evil against me. m
16 They turn, but not to what is above; M
they are like a faulty bow. n
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent tongue. o
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt. p