7 Whenever I want to heal Israel,
the guilt of Ephraim is uncovered,
    and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed,
    because they deal dishonestly.
    Thieves come inside,
    and bandits raid outside.
² In their hearts Ephraim does not realize that I remember all their wickedness.
    Now their deeds are all around them.
    They are in front of my face.
³ The people of Ephraim make the king glad with their wickedness.
    They make their officials happy with their lies.
⁴ They are all adulterers,
    burning like an oven.
    The baker does not need to stoke the fire
    from the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
⁵ On the day^[a] of our^[b] king, the officials became sick from the intoxicating wine.
    He reaches out his hand to the blasphemers.
⁶ Indeed, their hearts are like an oven.
    They approach him, while plotting against him.
    Their anger sleeps all night,
    but in the morning it burns like a blazing fire.
⁷ They are all hot as an oven.
    They devour their rulers.
    All their kings have fallen.
    Not one of them calls on me.
⁸ Ephraim mixes itself with the nations.
    Ephraim is a flatbread not turned over.
⁹ Strangers have devoured his strength,
    but he does not realize it.
    There are gray hairs on his head,
    but he does not realize it.
¹⁰ The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,
    yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,
    and they have not sought him, despite all this.

¹¹ Ephraim is like a gullible dove, without sense.
    They call to Egypt.
    Then they appeal to Assyria.
¹² When they go out, I will spread my net over them.
    I will bring them down like birds from the sky.
    I will discipline them, on the basis of the report about their assembly.^[c]
13 Woe to them,
    because they have strayed from me!
    Destruction comes upon them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
    I want to redeem them,
    but they speak lies against me.
¹⁴ They do not cry out to me with their hearts,
    but they howl on their beds.
    They gather together^[d] for grain and new wine.
    They turn away from me.
¹⁵ Though I trained and strengthened their arms,
    they plot evil against me.
¹⁶ They return, but not upward.^[e]
    They are like an unreliable bow.
    Their officials will fall by the sword because of their angry tongues.
    Because of this, they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.