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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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“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.
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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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Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.
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Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.
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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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Israel Unrepentant
“Come, let us return to the 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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“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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For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
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Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood.
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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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“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
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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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“Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
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Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.
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Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.
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“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless— now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.
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They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.
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Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.
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Israel cries out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
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But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.
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They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.
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Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants.
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Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, and though they eat the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.
