1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”
3Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.
Death and Resurrection
4I have been the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and no Savior exists besides me.
5I knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.
6When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.
Therefore they forgot me.
7So I will be like a lion to them;
I will lurk like a leopard on the path.
8I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but me.
10Where now is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the rulers you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11I give you a king in my anger
and take away a king in my wrath.
12Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.
13Labor pains come on him.
He is not a wise son;
when the time comes,
he will not be born.
14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem them from death.
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
The Coming Judgment
15Although he flourishes among his brothers,
an east wind will come,
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.
The wind will plunder the treasury
of every precious item.
16Samaria will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.