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The Lord Judges Israel

“Listen to me, you priests!
    Pay attention, people of Israel!
Listen, you members of the royal family!
    Here is my decision against you.
You have been like a trap at Mizpah.
    You have been like a net spread out on Mount Tabor.
You refuse to obey me.
    You are knee-deep in killing.
    So I will punish all of you.
I know all about the people of Ephraim.
    What Israel is doing is not hidden from me.
Now they have joined themselves to other gods.
    They have made themselves ‘unclean.’

“They can’t return to me
    because they have done so many evil things.
In their hearts they long to act like prostitutes.
    They do not recognize me as the Lord.
Israel’s pride proves that they are guilty.
    The people of Ephraim trip and fall because they have sinned.
    Judah falls down along with them.
Israel will come to worship the Lord.
    They will bring their animals to offer as sacrifices.
But they will not find him.
    He has turned away from them.
They are not faithful to the Lord.
    Their children are not his.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,
    he will destroy their fields.

“My people, blow trumpets in Gibeah!
    Blow horns in Ramah!
Shout the battle cry in Bethel!
    Say to the people of Benjamin, ‘Lead on into battle!’
The people of Ephraim will be completely destroyed
    when it is time for me to punish them.
They can be sure it will happen.
    I am announcing it among their tribes.
10 Judah’s leaders have stolen some land.
    They have moved their borders farther north.
So I will pour out my anger on them
    like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim will soon be crushed.
    The Assyrians will stomp all over them.
It will happen because they have made up their minds
    to chase after other gods.
12 I will be like a moth to Ephraim.
    I will cause Judah to rot away.

13 “The people of Ephraim saw how sick they were.
    The people of Judah saw that they were wounded.
Then Ephraim turned to Assyria for help.
    They sent gifts to the great King Tiglath-Pileser.
But he is not able to make you well.
    He can’t heal your wounds.
14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim.
    I will attack Judah like a powerful lion.
I will tear them to pieces.
    I will drag them off.
Then I will leave them.
    No one will be able to save them.
15 I will go back to my lion’s den.
    I will stay there until they pay the price for their sin.
Then they will turn to me.
    They will suffer so much
    that they will really want me to help them.”

Israel Refuses to Turn Away From Their Sins

The people say, “Come.
    Let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces.
    But he will heal us.
He has wounded us.
    But he’ll bandage our wounds.
After two days he will give us new life.
    On the third day he’ll make us like new again.
    Then we will enjoy his blessing.
Let’s recognize him as the Lord.
    Let’s keep trying to know him.
You can be sure the sun will rise.
    And you can be just as sure the Lord will appear.
He will come to renew us like the winter rains.
    He will be like the spring rains that water the earth.”

The Lord says, “Ephraim, what can I do with you?
    And what can I do with you, Judah?
Your love for me vanishes like the morning mist.
    It soon disappears like the early dew.
So I used the words of my prophets to cut you in pieces.
    I used my words to put you to death.
    Then my judgments blazed out like the sun.
I want mercy and not sacrifice.
    I want you to recognize me as God
    instead of bringing me burnt offerings.
Just as at the city of Adam, they disobeyed me,
    they have broken the covenant I made with them.
    They were not faithful to me there.
Ramoth Gilead is a city where sinful people live.
    It is stained with footprints of blood.
On the road to Shechem, groups of priests act like robbers.
    They hide and wait to attack people.
They murder them.
    So they carry out their evil plans.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in Israel.
The people of Ephraim are unfaithful to their own God.
    The people of Israel are ‘unclean.’

11 “People of Judah, I have also appointed a time
    for you to be destroyed.

“I would like to bless my people
    with great success again.

I would like to heal Israel.
    But when I try to, Ephraim’s sins
    are brought out into the open.
The crimes of Samaria
    are made known to everyone.
The people tell lies.
    They break into houses and steal.
    They rob others in the streets.
But they do not realize
    that I remember all the evil things they do.
Their sins pile up and cover them.
    I am always aware of their sins.

“Their evil conduct even makes the king glad.
    Their lies make the princes happy.
But all the people are unfaithful to the king.
    Their anger against him burns
    like the coals in an oven.
The baker does not even need to stir up the fire
    until the dough is ready.”

On special days to honor our king,
    the princes get drunk with wine.
And the king enjoys the party.
    He joins hands with those
    who pretend to be faithful to him.
Their hearts are as hot as an oven.
    They make evil plans to get rid of him.
Their anger burns like a slow fire all night.
    In the morning it blazes out like a flaming fire.
All of them are as hot as an oven.
    They destroy their rulers.
All their kings fall from power.
    But none of them calls on the Lord for help.

The people of Ephraim mix with the nations.
    They are like a thin loaf of bread
    that is baked on only one side.
People from other lands make them weaker and weaker.
    But they don’t realize it.
Their hair is becoming gray.
    But they don’t even notice it.
10 The pride of Israel proves that they are guilty.
    But in spite of everything,
they don’t return to the Lord their God.
    They don’t go to him for help.

11 The Lord says,

“The people of Ephraim are like a dove.
    They are easily tricked.
    They do not have any sense at all.
First they call out to Egypt for help.
    Then they turn to Assyria.
12 When they send for help,
    I will throw my net over them.
I will capture them like the birds in the sky.
    When I hear them gathering like birds,
    I will catch them.
13 How terrible it will be for them!
    They have wandered away from me.
So they will be destroyed.
    That’s because they have refused to obey me.
I long to save them.
    But they tell lies about me.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts.
    Instead, they just lie on their beds and sob.
They cut themselves when they pray to their gods
    for grain and fresh wine.
    But they turn away from me.
15 I brought them up and made them strong.
    But they make evil plans against me.
16 I am the Most High God. But they do not turn to me.
    They are like a bow that does not shoot straight.
Their leaders will be killed by swords.
    They will die because they have spoken too proudly.
The people of Egypt
    will make fun of them.”

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