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Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
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A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
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Judgment Against Israel
“Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
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I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt.
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Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them.
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They are unfaithful to the class="small-caps" >Lord; they give birth to illegitimate children. When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, he will devour their fields.
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“Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah. Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven; lead on, Benjamin.
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Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.
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Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.
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Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.
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I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot to the people of Judah.
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“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores.
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For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
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Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face— in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”
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Israel Unrepentant
“Come, let us return to the class="small-caps" >Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
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Let us acknowledge the class="small-caps" >Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
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“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
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Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun.
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For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
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As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.
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Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood.
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As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes.
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I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.
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whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets;
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but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.
