8 `Unto thy mouth -- a trumpet, As an eagle against the house of Jehovah, Because they transgressed My covenant, And against My law they have rebelled.

² To Me they cry, `My God, we -- Israel -- have known Thee.'

³ Cast off good hath Israel, an enemy pursueth him.

⁴ They have made kings, and not by Me, They have made princes, and I have not known, Their silver and their gold they have made to them idols, So that they are cut off.

⁵ Cast off hath thy calf, O Samaria, Burned hath Mine anger against them, Till when are they not capable of purity?

⁶ For even it [is] of Israel; an artificer made it, And it [is] not God, For the calf of Samaria is fragments!

⁷ For wind they sow, and a hurricane they reap, Stalk it hath none -- a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield -- strangers do swallow it up.

⁸ Israel hath been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.

⁹ For they -- they have gone up [to] Asshur, A wild ass alone by himself [is] Ephraim, They have hired lovers!

¹⁰ Also though they hire among nations, Now I gather them, and they are pained a little, From the burden of a king of princes.

¹¹ Because Ephraim did multiply altars to sin, They have been to him altars to sin.

¹² I write for him numerous things of My law, As a strange thing they have been reckoned.

¹³ The sacrifices of Mine offerings! They sacrifice flesh, and they eat, Jehovah hath not accepted them, Now doth He remember their iniquity, And inspect their sin, They -- [to] Egypt they turn back.

¹⁴ And forget doth Israel his Maker, and buildeth temples, And Judah hath multiplied cities of defence, And I have sent a fire into his cities, And it hath consumed their palaces!

9 `Rejoice not, O Israel, be not joyful like the peoples, For thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God, Thou hast loved a gift near all floors of corn.

² Floor and wine-press do not delight them, And new wine doth fail in her,

³ They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim [to] Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.

⁴ They pour not out wine to Jehovah, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices [are] as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread [is] for themselves, It doth not come into the house of Jehovah.

⁵ What do ye at the day appointed? And at the day of Jehovah's festival?

⁶ For, lo, they have gone because of destruction, Egypt gathereth them, Moph burieth them, The desirable things of their silver, Nettles possess them -- a thorn [is] in their tents.

⁷ Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool [is] the prophet, Mad [is] the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great [is] the hatred.

⁸ Ephraim is looking [away] from My God, The prophet! a snare of a fowler [is] over all his ways, Hatred [is] in the house of his God.

⁹ They have gone deep -- have done corruptly, As [in] the days of Gibeah, He doth remember their iniquity, He doth inspect their sins.

¹⁰ As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They -- they have gone in [to] Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.

¹¹ Ephraim [is] as a fowl, Fly away doth their honour, without birth, And without womb, and without conception.

¹² For though they nourish their sons, I have made them childless -- without man, Surely also, wo to them, when I turn aside from them.

¹³ Ephraim! when I have looked to the rock, Is planted in comeliness, And Ephraim [is] to bring out unto a slayer his sons.

¹⁴ Give to them, Jehovah -- what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.

¹⁵ All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I do drive them, I add not to love them, all their heads [are] apostates.

¹⁶ Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.

¹⁷ Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!

10 `An empty vine [is] Israel, Fruit he maketh like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He hath multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made goodly standing-pillars.

² Their heart hath been divided, now they are guilty, He doth break down their altars, He doth destroy their standing-pillars.

³ For now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared Jehovah, And the king -- what doth he for us?

⁴ They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.

⁵ For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,

⁶ Also it to Asshur is carried, a present to a warlike king, Shame doth Ephraim receive, And ashamed is Israel of its own counsel.

⁷ Cut off is Samaria! Its king [is] as a chip on the face of the waters.

⁸ And destroyed have been high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall upon us.

⁹ From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Not overtake them in Gibeah doth battle, Because of sons of perverseness.

¹⁰ When I desire, then I do bind them, And gathered against them have peoples, When they bind themselves to their two iniquities.

¹¹ And Ephraim [is] a trained heifer -- loving to thresh, And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause [one] to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.

¹² Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.

¹³ Ye have ploughed wickedness, Perversity ye have reaped, Ye have eaten the fruit of lying, For thou hast trusted in thy way, In the abundance of thy might.

¹⁴ And rise doth a tumult among thy people, And all thy fortresses are spoiled, As the spoiling of Shalman of Beth-Arbel, In a day of battle, Mother against sons dashed in pieces.

¹⁵ Thus hath Beth-El done to you, Because of the evil of your wickedness, In the dawn cut off utterly is a king of Israel!