The Coming Exile
1Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly as the nations do, v
for you have acted promiscuously, w leaving your God.
You love the wages of a prostitute
on every grain-threshing floor. x
2 Threshing floor and wine vat will not sustain them, y
and the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not stay in the land of the LORD.
Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, z
and they will eat unclean food a in Assyria. b
their wine offerings to the LORD, c
and their sacrifices will not please him.
Their food will be like the bread of mourners;
all who eat it become defiled. d
For their bread will be for their appetites alone;
it will not enter the house of the LORD.
5 What will you do on a festival day, e
on the day of the LORD’S feast? f
6 For even if they flee from devastation,
Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them. g
Thistles will take possession of their precious silver;
thorns will invade their tents. h
7 The days of punishment have come; i
the days of retribution have come. j
Let Israel recognize it!
The prophet is a fool, k
and the inspired man is insane, l
because of the magnitude
of your iniquity and hostility. m
8 Ephraim’s watchman is with my God.
Yet the prophet encounters a bird trap
on all his pathways. n
Hostility is in the house of his God!
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves o
as in the days of Gibeah. p
He will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins. q
Ephraim Bereaved of Offspring
10 I discovered Israel
like grapes in the wilderness. r
I saw your fathers
like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season. s
But they went to Baal-peor, t
consecrated themselves to Shame, R,u
and became abhorrent, v
like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird: w
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. x
12 Even if they raise children,
I will bereave them of each one.
Yes, woe to them when I depart from them! y
13 I have seen Ephraim like Tyre, z
planted in a meadow,
so Ephraim will bring out his children
to the executioner.
What should you give?
Give them a womb that miscarries
and breasts that are dry! a
15 All their evil appears at Gilgal, b
for there I began to hate them.
I will drive them from my house
because of their evil, wicked actions. c
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious. d
16 Ephraim e is struck down;
their roots are withered;
they cannot bear fruit. f
Even if they bear children,
I will kill the precious offspring of their wombs. g
because they have not listened to him; h
they will become wanderers among the nations. i