| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When Ephraim spoke, there was terror; he was exalted in Israel, but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died. | 1When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction. |
| 2Even now they persist in sin! They make metal images for themselves, idols that they skillfully fashion from their own silver; all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen! There is a saying about them: "Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!" | 2Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands. “Sacrifice to these,” they cry, “and kiss the calf idols!” |
| 3Therefore they will disappear like the morning mist, like early morning dew that evaporates, like chaff that is blown away from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window. | 3Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. |
| 4But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior. | 4“I have been the LORD your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. |
| 5I cared for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was. | 5I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. |
| 6When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me! | 6But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| 7So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. | 7So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. |
| 8I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs--I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion--like a wild animal would tear them apart. | 8Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal. |
| 9I will destroy you, O Israel! Who is there to help you? | 9“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. |
| 10Where then is your king, that he may save you in all your cities? Where are your rulers for whom you asked, saying, "Give me a king and princes"? | 10Now where is your king? Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me? |
| 11I granted you a king in my anger, and I will take him away in my wrath! | 11In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. |
| 12The punishment of Ephraim has been decreed; his punishment is being stored up for the future. | 12“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. |
| 13The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb! | 13Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb! |
| 14Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion! | 14“Should I ransom them from the grave ? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them. |
| 15Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up; his well will become dry. That wind will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse. | 15Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the LORD— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. |
| 16Samaria will be held guilty, because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground--their pregnant women will be ripped open. | 16 The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.” |
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