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11 “The people of Israel have become like silly, witless doves,
    first calling to Egypt, then flying to Assyria for help.

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12 [a]The people of Israel[b] feed on the wind;
    they chase after the east wind all day long.
They pile up lies and violence;
    they are making an alliance with Assyria
    while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:1a Verses 12:1-14 are numbered 12:2-15 in Hebrew text.
  2. 12:1b Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 12:8, 14.

13 “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were,
    Israel turned to Assyria—
to the great king there—
    but he could neither help nor cure them.

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11 Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.
    Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.
And I will bring them home again,”
    says the Lord.

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11     to worship other gods.

“Wine has robbed my people
    of their understanding.

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You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.
    Instead, you will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria you will eat food
    that is ceremonially unclean.

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Assyria cannot save us,
    nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
    ‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
    do the orphans find mercy.”

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The people of Israel have been swallowed up;
    they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot.
Like a wild donkey looking for a mate,
    they have gone up to Assyria.
The people of Israel[a] have sold themselves—
    sold themselves to many lovers.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:9 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 8:11.

The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

“Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers. They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses. And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols[a] and defiling herself. For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:7 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 23:30, 37, 39, 49.

36 First here, then there—
    you flit from one ally to another asking for help.
But your new friends in Egypt will let you down,
    just as Assyria did before.

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18 “What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt
    and your covenants with Assyria?
What good to you are the streams of the Nile[a]
    or the waters of the Euphrates River?[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:18a Hebrew of Shihor, a branch of the Nile River.
  2. 2:18b Hebrew the river?

The Futility of Relying on Egypt

31 What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help,
    trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers
and depending on the strength of human armies
    instead of looking to the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.
In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster;
    he will not change his mind.
He will rise against the wicked
    and against their helpers.
For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God!
    Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits!
When the Lord raises his fist against them,
    those who help will stumble,
and those being helped will fall.
    They will all fall down and die together.

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Judah’s Worthless Treaty with Egypt

30 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,”
    says the Lord.
“You make plans that are contrary to mine.
    You make alliances not directed by my Spirit,
    thus piling up your sins.
For without consulting me,
    you have gone down to Egypt for help.
You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection.
    You have tried to hide in his shade.
But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated,
    and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.
For though his power extends to Zoan
    and his officials have arrived in Hanes,
all who trust in him will be ashamed.
    He will not help you.
    Instead, he will disgrace you.”

This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev:

The caravan moves slowly
    across the terrible desert to Egypt—
donkeys weighed down with riches
    and camels loaded with treasure—
    all to pay for Egypt’s protection.
They travel through the wilderness,
    a place of lionesses and lions,
    a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live.
All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.

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16 It is senseless to pay to educate a fool,
    since he has no heart for learning.

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32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;
    but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

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32 But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
    for he destroys himself.

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King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt[a] to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:4 Or by asking the king of Egypt at Sais.

19 Then King Tiglath-pileser[a] of Assyria invaded the land. But Menahem paid him thirty-seven tons[b] of silver to gain his support in tightening his grip on royal power.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:19a Hebrew Pul, another name for Tiglath-pileser.
  2. 15:19b Hebrew 1,000 talents [34 metric tons].

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