| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, But through Baal he did wrong and died. |
| 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!” | 2And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images, Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!" |
| 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. | 3Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney. |
| 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. | 4Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me. |
| 5I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. | 5I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought. |
| 6But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. | 6As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me. |
| 7So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. | 7So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside. |
| 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. | 8I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open their chests; There I will also devour them like a lioness, As a wild beast would tear them. |
| 9“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. | 9It is your destruction, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your help. |
| 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? | 10Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities, And your judges of whom you requested, "Give me a king and princes "? |
| 11In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. | 11I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath. |
| 12“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. | 12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up. |
| 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! | 13The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son, For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb. |
| 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. | 14Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight. |
| 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. | 15Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article. |
| 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.” | 16Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open. |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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