| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through 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. |
| 2And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” | 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 shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a 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 from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides 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. |
| 5It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; | 5I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. |
| 6but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. | 6But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| 7So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. | 7So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. |
| 8I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open. | 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. |
| 9He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper. | 9“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. |
| 10Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “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 gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. | 11In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. |
| 12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store. | 12“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. |
| 13The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening 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! |
| 14I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. | 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. |
| 15Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. | 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 shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women 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.” |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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