1. When Ephraim spoke trembling, he was lifted up in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
2. And now they sin more and more, and have made themselves a molten image of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.
3. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff storm-driven out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
4. Yet I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me. For there is no Savior besides Me.
5. I have known you in the wilderness, in the land of great dryness.
6. According to their pasture, so were they filled. They were filled and their heart was lifted up. Therefore they have forgotten Me.
7. Therefore I will be as a lion to them; as a leopard by the way I will watch them.
8. I will meet them like a bereaved bear, and will tear the lining of their heart. And there I will devour them like a lion; the wild beast shall tear them.
9. O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help.
10. Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities; and your judges of whom you said, Give me a king and rulers?
11. I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.
12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin hidden.
13. The pains of a woman in travail shall come to him. He is an unwise son; for he cannot stand still in the time of the breaking forth of sons.
14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, where are your plagues; O Grave, where is your ruin! Repentance shall be hidden from My eyes.
15. Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come. The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall be ashamed, and his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasure of all desirable vessels.
16. Samaria shall become a waste, for she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword. Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up.
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