The word
of the LORD
that came
unto Hosea,
the son of Beeri,
in the days
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah,
and in the days
of Jeroboam
the son of Joash,
king
of Israel.
The beginning
of the word
of the LORD
by Hosea.
And the LORD
said
to Hosea, Go,
take
unto thee a wife
of whoredoms
and children
of whoredoms:
for the land
hath committed
great whoredom,
departing
from the LORD.
So he
went
and took
Gomer the daughter
of Diblaim;
which conceived,
and bare him a son.
And the LORD
said unto him,
Call his name Jezreel;
for yet
a little while,
and I
will avenge
the blood
of Jezreel
upon the house
of Jehu,
and will cause
to cease the kingdom
of the house
of Israel.
And it
shall come
to pass
at that day,
that I
will break
the bow
of Israel,
in the valley
of Jezreel.
And
she conceived again,
and bare
a daughter.
And God
said unto him,
Call her name Loruhamah:
for I
will no more
have mercy
upon the house
of Israel;
but
I will utterly take them away.
But
I will have mercy
upon the house
of Judah,
and will save them
by the LORD their God,
and will not save them
by bow,
nor by sword,
nor by battle,
by horses,
nor
by horsemen.
Now
when
she had weaned
Loruhamah,
she conceived,
and bare a son.
Then said God,
Call his name Loammi:
for ye
are not
my people,
and
I will not be
your God.
Yet the number
of the children
of Israel
shall be as the sand
of the sea,
which cannot be measured
nor numbered;
and it
shall come
to pass,
that in the place
where it
was said unto them,
Ye are not
my people,
there
it shall be said unto them,
Ye are the sons
of the living God.
Then shall
the children
of Judah
and the children
of Israel
be gathered together,
and appoint themselves
one head,
and
they shall come up
out of the land:
for great
shall be
the day
of Jezreel.
Say
ye unto your brethren,
Ammi;
and
to your sisters,
Ruhamah.
Plead
with your mother,
plead:
for she
is not my wife,
neither am
I her husband:
let her
therefore put away
her whoredoms
out of her sight,
and her adulteries from
between her breasts;
Lest
I strip
her naked,
and set her as
in the day
that
she was born,
and make her
as a wilderness,
and set
her like
a dry land,
and slay her
with thirst.
And
I will not have mercy
upon her children;
for they
be the children
of whoredoms.
For their mother
hath played
the harlot:
she that
conceived them
hath done shamefully:
for she said,
I will go
after my lovers,
that give me
my bread
and my water,
my wool
and my flax,
mine
oil and my drink.
Therefore,
behold,
I will hedge
up thy way
with thorns,
and make a wall,
that she
shall not find
her paths.
And
she shall follow
after her lovers,
but
she shall not overtake them;
and
she shall seek them,
but shall not find them:
then shall
she say,
I will go
and return
to my first husband;
for then
was
it better
with me than now.
For she
did not know
that I
gave her corn,
and wine,
and oil,
and multiplied
her silver
and gold,
which they
prepared
for Baal.
Therefore will
I return,
and take away
my corn
in the time
thereof,
and my wine
in the season
thereof,
and will recover
my wool
and my flax
given
to cover her nakedness.
And now will
I discover
her lewdness
in the sight
of her lovers,
and none
shall deliver her
out of mine hand.
I will also cause all
her mirth
to cease,
her feast days,
her new moons,
and her sabbaths,
and all her solemn feasts.
And
I will destroy
her vines
and her fig trees,
whereof
she hath said,
These
are
my rewards
that my lovers
have given me:
and
I will make them
a forest,
and the beasts
of the field
shall eat them.
And
I will visit
upon her
the days
of Baalim,
wherein she
burned
incense to them,
and
she decked herself
with her earrings
and her jewels,
and
she went after her lovers,
and forgat me,
saith the LORD.
Therefore,
behold,
I will allure her,
and bring her
into the wilderness,
and speak comfortably
unto her.
And I
will give
her her vineyards
from thence,
and the valley
of Achor
for a door
of hope:
and
she shall sing there,
as in the days
of her youth,
and
as in the day
when she
came up
out of the land
of Egypt.
And it
shall be
at that day,
saith the LORD,
that thou
shalt call me Ishi;
and shalt call me
no more Baali.
For I will take away
the names
of Baalim
out of her mouth,
and
they shall no more
be remembered
by their name.
And in that day
will
I make a covenant
for them
with the beasts
of the field
and with the fowls
of heaven,
and
with the creeping things
of the ground:
and I
will break
the bow
and the sword
and the battle
out of the earth,
and will make them
to lie down safely.
And
I will betroth thee
unto me
for ever;
yea,
I will betroth thee
unto me
in righteousness,
and in judgment,
and
in lovingkindness,
and
in mercies.
I will even betroth thee
unto me
in faithfulness:
and
thou shalt know
the LORD.
And it
shall come
to pass
in that day,
I will hear,
saith the LORD,
I will hear
the heavens,
and
they shall hear
the earth;
And the earth
shall hear
the corn,
and the wine,
and the oil;
and
they shall hear
Jezreel.
And
I will sow her
unto me
in the earth;
and I
will have
mercy upon her
that had not obtained mercy;
and I
will say
to them
which were not
my people,
Thou art my people;
and
they shall say,
Thou art my God.
Then said
the LORD
unto me,
Go yet,
love a woman beloved
of her friend,
yet an adulteress,
according to the love
of the LORD
toward the children
of Israel,
who look
to other gods,
and love flagons
of wine.
So I
bought
her to me
for fifteen pieces
of silver,
and for an homer
of barley,
and an half homer
of barley:
And I
said
unto her,
Thou
shalt abide
for me many days;
thou shalt not play
the harlot,
and
thou shalt not be
for another man:
so will
I also be
for thee.
For the children
of Israel
shall abide
many days
without a king,
and
without a prince,
and without a sacrifice,
and
without an image,
and
without an ephod,
and
without teraphim:
Afterward shall
the children
of Israel return,
and seek
the LORD their God,
and David
their king;
and shall fear
the LORD
and his goodness
in the latter days.
Hear the word
of the LORD,
ye children
of Israel:
for the LORD
hath a controversy
with the inhabitants
of the land,
because
there is no truth,
nor mercy,
nor knowledge
of God
in the land.
By swearing,
and lying,
and killing,
and stealing,
and committing adultery,
they break out,
and blood
toucheth blood.
Therefore shall
the land mourn,
and
every one
that dwelleth
therein shall languish,
with the beasts
of the field,
and
with the fowls
of heaven;
yea,
the fishes
of the sea
also shall be taken away.
Yet let
no man strive,
nor reprove
another:
for thy people
are as they
that strive
with the priest.
Therefore shalt thou
fall in the day,
and the prophet
also shall fall
with thee
in the night,
and I
will destroy
thy mother.
My people
are destroyed
for lack
of knowledge:
because
thou hast rejected
knowledge,
I will also reject thee,
that thou
shalt be
no priest to me:
seeing
thou hast forgotten
the law
of thy God,
I will also forget
thy children.
As they
were increased,
so they
sinned against me:
therefore will
I change
their glory
into shame.
They eat
up the sin
of my people,
and they set
their heart
on their iniquity.
And there shall be,
like people,
like priest:
and
I will punish them
for their ways,
and reward them
their doings.
For they
shall eat,
and not have
enough:
they shall commit
whoredom,
and shall not increase:
because
they have left off
to take
heed
to the LORD.
Whoredom
and wine
and new wine
take away
the heart.
My people
ask counsel
at their stocks,
and their staff
declareth unto them:
for the spirit
of whoredoms
hath caused them
to err,
and
they have gone
a whoring from
under their God.
They sacrifice
upon the tops
of the mountains,
and burn
incense
upon the hills,
under oaks
and poplars
and elms,
because
the shadow
thereof is good:
therefore your daughters
shall commit
whoredom,
and your spouses
shall commit
adultery.
I will not punish
your daughters
when
they commit
whoredom,
nor your spouses
when
they commit
adultery:
for themselves
are separated
with whores,
and
they sacrifice
with harlots:
therefore the people
that doth not understand
shall fall.
Though thou,
Israel,
play the harlot,
yet let not Judah offend;
and come not
ye unto Gilgal,
neither go
ye up to Bethaven,
nor swear,
The LORD liveth.
For Israel
slideth
back
as a backsliding heifer:
now the LORD
will feed them as a lamb
in a large place.
Ephraim
is joined
to idols:
let him alone.
Their drink
is sour:
they have committed
whoredom continually:
her rulers
with shame
do love,
Give ye.
The wind
hath bound her up
in her wings,
and
they shall be ashamed
because
of their sacrifices.
Hear ye this,
O priests;
and hearken,
ye house
of Israel;
and give ye ear,
O house
of the king;
for judgment
is toward you,
because
ye have been
a snare
on Mizpah,
and a net spread
upon Tabor.
And the revolters
are profound
to make slaughter,
though I
have been a rebuker
of them all.
I know Ephraim,
and Israel
is not
hid from me:
for now,
O Ephraim,
thou committest whoredom,
and Israel
is defiled.
They will not frame
their doings
to turn
unto their God:
for the spirit
of whoredoms
is in the midst
of them,
and
they have not known
the LORD.
And
the pride
of Israel
doth testify
to his face:
therefore shall Israel
and Ephraim fall
in their iniquity:
Judah
also shall fall with them.
They
shall go
with their flocks
and with their herds
to seek the LORD;
but
they shall not find him;
he hath withdrawn himself
from them.
They have dealt treacherously
against the LORD:
for they
have begotten
strange children:
now shall
a month
devour them
with their portions.
Blow
ye the cornet
in Gibeah,
and the trumpet
in Ramah:
cry aloud
at Bethaven,
after thee,
O Benjamin.
Ephraim
shall be
desolate
in the day
of rebuke:
among the tribes
of Israel
have
I made
known
that which
shall surely be.
The princes
of Judah
were like
them that remove
the bound:
therefore I
will pour
out my wrath
upon them like water.
Ephraim
is oppressed
and broken in
judgment,
because
he willingly walked
after the commandment.
Therefore will
I be
unto Ephraim
as a moth,
and to the house
of Judah
as rottenness.
When Ephraim
saw his sickness,
and Judah
saw his wound,
then went Ephraim
to the Assyrian,
and sent
to king Jareb:
yet could
he not heal you,
nor cure you
of your wound.
For I
will be unto Ephraim
as a lion,
and
as a young lion
to the house
of Judah:
I,
even I,
will tear
and go away;
I will take away,
and none
shall rescue him.
I will go
and return
to my place,
till they
acknowledge
their offence,
and seek my face:
in their affliction
they will seek me early.
Come,
and let us
return
unto the LORD:
for he
hath torn,
and
he will heal us;
he hath smitten,
and
he will bind us up.
After two days
will
he revive us:
in the third day
he will raise us up,
and
we shall live
in his sight.
Then shall
we know,
if we
follow on
to know the LORD:
his going
forth is prepared
as the morning;
and he
shall come
unto us
as the rain,
as the latter
and former rain
unto the earth.
O Ephraim,
what shall
I do unto thee?
O Judah,
what shall
I do unto thee?
for your goodness
is as a morning cloud,
and
as the early dew
it goeth away.
Therefore have
I hewed them
by the prophets;
I have slain them
by the words
of my mouth:
and thy judgments
are as the light
that goeth forth.
For I desired mercy,
and not sacrifice;
and
the knowledge
of God
more than burnt
offerings.
But
they like men
have transgressed
the covenant:
there have
they
dealt treacherously against me.
Gilead is a city
of them that work iniquity,
and is polluted
with blood.
And as troops
of robbers
wait for a man,
so the company
of priests
murder
in the way
by consent:
for they
commit lewdness.
I have seen
an horrible thing
in the house
of Israel:
there is
the whoredom
of Ephraim,
Israel is defiled.
Also,
O Judah,
he hath set
an harvest
for thee,
when I
returned
the captivity
of my people.
When
I would have healed
Israel,
then
the iniquity
of Ephraim
was discovered,
and the wickedness
of Samaria:
for they
commit falsehood;
and the thief
cometh in,
and
the troop
of robbers
spoileth without.
And
they consider not
in their hearts
that
I remember all
their wickedness:
now their own
doings
have beset them about;
they are before my face.
They make
the king glad
with their wickedness,
and the princes
with their lies.
They are all adulterers,
as an oven
heated
by the baker,
who ceaseth
from raising
after he
hath kneaded
the dough,
until it
be leavened.
In the day
of our king
the princes
have made him sick
with bottles
of wine;
he stretched out his hand
with scorners.
For they
have made ready
their heart like
an oven,
whiles
they lie
in wait:
their baker
sleepeth all
the night;
in the morning it
burneth
as a flaming fire.
They are all hot
as an oven,
and have devoured
their judges;
all their kings
are fallen:
there is none
among them that calleth
unto me.
Ephraim,
he hath mixed himself
among the people;
Ephraim
is
a cake
not turned.
Strangers
have devoured
his strength,
and
he knoweth it not:
yea,
gray hairs
are here and
there upon him,
yet
he knoweth not.
And
the pride
of Israel
testifieth to his face:
and
they do not return
to the LORD
their God,
nor seek him
for all this.
Ephraim also is like
a silly dove
without heart:
they call
to Egypt,
they go
to Assyria.
When
they shall go,
I will spread
my net
upon them;
I will bring
them down
as the fowls
of the heaven;
I will chastise them,
as their congregation
hath heard.
Woe unto them!
for they have fled from me:
destruction
unto them!
because
they
have transgressed against me:
though I
have redeemed them,
yet
they have spoken
lies against me.
And
they have not cried
unto me
with their heart,
when they
howled
upon their beds:
they assemble themselves
for corn
and wine,
and
they
rebel against me.
Though I
have bound
and strengthened
their arms,
yet do
they imagine mischief
against me.
They return,
but not to the most High:
they are like
a deceitful bow:
their princes
shall fall by the sword
for the rage
of their tongue:
this shall be their derision
in the land
of Egypt.
Set the trumpet
to thy mouth.
He shall come
as an eagle
against the house
of the LORD,
because
they have transgressed
my covenant,
and trespassed
against my law.
Israel
shall cry unto me,
My God,
we know thee.
Israel
hath cast
off the thing
that is good:
the enemy
shall pursue him.
They have set up kings,
but not by me:
they have made
princes,
and
I knew it not:
of their silver
and their gold
have
they made them idols,
that they
may be cut off.
Thy calf,
O Samaria,
hath cast thee off;
mine anger
is kindled against them:
how long
will
it be
ere
they attain
to innocency?
For from Israel
was it also:
the workman
made it;
therefore it
is not God:
but
the calf
of Samaria
shall be broken in pieces.
For they
have sown
the wind,
and
they shall reap
the whirlwind:
it hath
no stalk;
the bud
shall yield
no meal:
if so
be
it yield,
the strangers
shall swallow it up.
Israel
is swallowed up:
now shall
they be
among the Gentiles
as a vessel
wherein is
no pleasure.
For they
are gone
up to Assyria,
a wild ass alone
by himself:
Ephraim
hath hired lovers.
Yea,
though they
have hired
among the nations,
now will
I gather them,
and
they shall sorrow
a little
for the burden
of the king
of princes.
Because Ephraim
hath made many altars
to sin,
altars
shall be
unto him to sin.
I have written
to him the great things
of my law,
but
they were counted
as a strange thing.
They sacrifice flesh
for the sacrifices
of mine offerings,
and eat it;
but the LORD
accepteth them not;
now will
he remember
their iniquity,
and visit
their sins:
they shall return
to Egypt.
For Israel
hath forgotten
his Maker,
and buildeth temples;
and Judah
hath multiplied
fenced cities:
but I
will send
a fire
upon his cities,
and it
shall devour
the palaces
thereof.
Rejoice not,
O Israel,
for joy,
as other people:
for thou
hast gone
a whoring
from thy God,
thou hast loved
a reward
upon every cornfloor.
The floor
and the winepress
shall not feed them,
and the new wine
shall fail
in her.
They shall not dwell
in the LORD's land;
but Ephraim
shall return
to Egypt,
and
they shall eat unclean things
in Assyria.
They shall not offer
wine offerings
to the LORD,
neither shall
they
be pleasing unto him:
their sacrifices
shall be
unto them
as the bread
of mourners;
all that
eat thereof shall be polluted:
for their bread
for their soul
shall not come
into the house
of the LORD.
What will
ye do
in the solemn day,
and in the day
of the feast
of the LORD?
For, lo,
they are gone
because
of destruction:
Egypt
shall gather them up,
Memphis shall bury them:
the pleasant places
for their silver,
nettles shall possess them:
thorns
shall be
in their tabernacles.
The days
of visitation
are come,
the days
of recompence
are come;
Israel shall know it:
the prophet
is a fool,
the spiritual man
is mad,
for the multitude
of thine iniquity,
and the great hatred.
The watchman
of Ephraim
was with my God:
but the prophet
is a snare
of a fowler
in all his ways,
and hatred
in the house
of his God.
They have deeply corrupted themselves,
as in the days
of Gibeah:
therefore he
will remember
their iniquity,
he will visit
their sins.
I found
Israel like grapes
in the wilderness;
I saw
your fathers
as the firstripe
in the fig tree
at her
first time:
but
they went to Baalpeor,
and separated themselves
unto that shame;
and their abominations
were according
as they loved.
As for Ephraim,
their glory
shall fly
away like
a bird,
from the birth,
and
from the womb,
and
from the conception.
Though they
bring up their children,
yet will
I bereave them,
that there shall not be
a man left:
yea,
woe also to them
when
I depart from them!
Ephraim,
as I saw Tyrus,
is planted
in a pleasant place:
but Ephraim
shall bring forth
his children
to the murderer.
Give them,
O LORD:
what wilt
thou give?
give them
a miscarrying womb
and dry
breasts.
All their wickedness
is in Gilgal:
for there
I hated them:
for the wickedness
of their doings
I will drive them
out of mine house,
I will love them
no more:
all their princes
are revolters.
Ephraim is smitten,
their root
is dried up,
they shall bear
no fruit:
yea,
though they bring forth,
yet will
I slay even
the beloved fruit
of their womb.
My God
will cast them away,
because
they
did not hearken unto him:
and
they shall be wanderers
among the nations.
Israel is an empty vine,
he bringeth forth fruit
unto himself:
according to the multitude
of his fruit
he hath increased
the altars;
according to the goodness
of his land
they have made
goodly images.
Their heart
is divided;
now shall
they be found faulty:
he shall break down
their altars,
he shall spoil
their images.
For now
they shall say,
We have no king,
because
we feared not
the LORD;
what then
should
a king do to us?
They have spoken words,
swearing falsely
in making
a covenant:
thus judgment
springeth up as hemlock
in the furrows
of the field.
The inhabitants
of Samaria
shall fear
because
of the calves
of Bethaven:
for the people
thereof shall mourn
over it,
and the priests
thereof
that rejoiced on it,
for the glory
thereof,
because
it is departed
from it.
It shall be also carried
unto Assyria
for a present
to king Jareb:
Ephraim shall receive shame,
and Israel
shall be ashamed
of his own counsel.
As for Samaria,
her king
is cut off as the foam
upon the water.
The high
places also
of Aven,
the sin
of Israel,
shall be destroyed:
the thorn
and the thistle
shall come up
on their altars;
and
they shall say
to the mountains,
Cover us;
and to the hills,
Fall on us.
O Israel,
thou hast sinned
from the days
of Gibeah:
there
they stood:
the battle
in Gibeah
against the children
of iniquity
did not overtake them.
It is in my desire
that
I should chastise them;
and the people
shall be gathered against them,
when
they shall bind themselves
in their two furrows.
And Ephraim
is as an heifer
that is taught,
and loveth
to tread
out the corn;
but I
passed over
upon her fair neck:
I will make Ephraim
to ride;
Judah shall plow,
and Jacob
shall break
his clods.
Sow to yourselves
in righteousness,
reap in mercy;
break up
your fallow ground:
for it
is time
to seek the LORD,
till he come
and rain righteousness
upon you.
Ye have plowed
wickedness,
ye have reaped
iniquity;
ye have eaten
the fruit
of lies:
because
thou didst trust
in thy way,
in the multitude
of thy mighty men.
Therefore shall
a tumult
arise among thy people,
and all thy fortresses
shall be spoiled,
as Shalman
spoiled Betharbel
in the day
of battle:
the mother
was dashed
in pieces
upon her children.
So shall
Bethel
do
unto you
because
of your great wickedness:
in a morning
shall
the king
of Israel
utterly be cut off.
When Israel
was a child,
then I
loved him,
and called
my son
out of Egypt.
As they
called them,
so they
went from them:
they sacrificed
unto Baalim,
and burned
incense
to graven images.
I taught Ephraim
also to go,
taking them
by their arms;
but
they knew not that
I healed them.
I drew them
with cords
of a man,
with bands
of love:
and I
was
to them
as they
that take off
the yoke
on their jaws,
and I
laid meat
unto them.
He shall not return
into the land
of Egypt,
and the Assyrian
shall be
his king,
because
they refused
to return.
And the sword
shall abide
on his cities,
and shall consume
his branches,
and devour them,
because
of their own counsels.
And my people
are bent
to backsliding from me:
though they
called them
to the most High,
none at all would exalt him.
How shall
I give thee
up, Ephraim?
how shall
I deliver thee,
Israel?
how shall
I make thee
as Admah?
how shall
I set thee
as Zeboim?
mine heart
is turned within me,
my repentings
are kindled together.
I will not execute
the fierceness
of mine anger,
I will not return
to destroy Ephraim:
for I
am God,
and not man;
the Holy One
in the midst
of thee:
and
I will not enter
into the city.
They shall walk
after the LORD:
he shall roar like
a lion:
when
he shall roar,
then the children
shall tremble
from the west.
They shall tremble
as a bird
out of Egypt,
and as a dove
out of the land
of Assyria:
and
I will place them
in their houses,
saith the LORD.
Ephraim compasseth me about
with lies,
and the house
of Israel
with deceit:
but Judah
yet ruleth
with God,
and is faithful
with the saints.
Ephraim
feedeth on wind,
and followeth after the east wind:
he daily increaseth
lies
and desolation;
and they
do make
a covenant
with the Assyrians,
and oil
is carried
into Egypt.
The LORD
hath also a controversy
with Judah,
and will punish Jacob
according to his ways;
according to
his doings
will
he recompense him.
He took his brother
by the heel
in the womb,
and
by his strength
he had
power
with God:
Yea,
he had
power
over the angel,
and prevailed:
he wept,
and made supplication
unto him:
he found him
in Bethel,
and
there
he spake with us;
Even the LORD God
of hosts;
the LORD
is his memorial.
Therefore turn
thou to thy God:
keep mercy
and judgment
and wait
on thy God continually.
He is a merchant,
the balances
of deceit
are in his hand:
he loveth
to oppress.
And Ephraim said,
Yet I
am become rich,
I have found me
out substance:
in all my
labours
they
shall find
none iniquity
in me that were sin.
And I
that am
the LORD thy God
from the land
of Egypt
will yet make
thee
to dwell
in tabernacles,
as in the days
of the solemn feast.
I have also spoken
by the prophets,
and
I have multiplied
visions,
and used
similitudes,
by the ministry
of the prophets.
Is there iniquity
in Gilead?
surely
they are vanity:
they sacrifice bullocks
in Gilgal;
yea,
their altars
are as heaps
in the furrows
of the fields.
And Jacob
fled into the country
of Syria,
and Israel
served
for a wife,
and for a wife
he kept sheep.
And by a prophet
the LORD
brought Israel
out of Egypt,
and by a prophet
was he preserved.
Ephraim
provoked him
to anger most bitterly:
therefore shall
he leave
his blood
upon him,
and his reproach
shall
his LORD
return unto him.
When Ephraim
spake trembling,
he exalted himself
in Israel;
but
when he
offended
in Baal,
he died.
And now
they sin
more
and more,
and have made them molten images
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
that sacrifice
kiss
the calves.
Therefore they
shall be
as the morning cloud
and as the early dew
that passeth
away,
as the chaff
that is driven
with the whirlwind
out of the floor,
and as the smoke
out of the chimney.
Yet
I am the LORD
thy God
from the land
of Egypt,
and
thou shalt know no god
but me:
for there is no saviour
beside me.
I did know thee
in the wilderness,
in the land
of great drought.
According to their pasture,
so were
they filled;
they were filled,
and their heart
was exalted;
therefore have
they forgotten me.
Therefore I
will be
unto them
as a lion:
as a leopard
by the way
will
I observe them:
I will meet them
as a bear
that is bereaved
of her whelps,
and will rend
the caul
of their heart,
and there will
I devour them like
a lion:
the wild beast
shall tear them.
O Israel,
thou hast destroyed
thyself;
but in me is
thine help.
I will be
thy king:
where is any other
that may save thee
in all thy cities?
and thy
judges
of whom
thou saidst,
Give me
a king and princes?
I gave thee
a king
in mine anger,
and took him away
in my wrath.
The iniquity
of Ephraim
is bound up;
his sin is hid.
The sorrows of a
travailing woman
shall come upon him:
he is an unwise son;
for he
should not stay long
in the place
of the breaking forth
of children.
I will ransom them
from the power
of the grave;
I will redeem them
from death:
O death,
I will be
thy plagues;
O grave,
I will be
thy destruction:
repentance
shall be
hid from mine eyes.
Though he
be fruitful
among his brethren,
an east wind
shall come,
the wind
of the LORD
shall come up
from the wilderness,
and his spring
shall become dry,
and his fountain
shall be dried up:
he shall spoil the treasure
of all pleasant vessels.
Samaria shall become desolate;
for she hath rebelled
against her God:
they shall fall
by the sword:
their infants
shall be dashed
in pieces,
and their women
with child
shall be ripped up.
O israel,
return
unto the LORD thy God;
for thou
hast fallen
by thine iniquity.
Take with you words,
and turn
to the LORD:
say unto him,
Take away all iniquity,
and receive us graciously:
so will
we render
the calves
of our lips.
Asshur shall not save us;
we will not ride
upon horses:
neither will
we say any more
to the work
of our hands,
Ye are our gods:
for in thee
the fatherless
findeth mercy.
I will heal
their backsliding,
I will love them freely:
for mine
anger
is turned away from him.
I will be as the dew
unto Israel:
he shall grow
as the lily,
and cast
forth his roots
as Lebanon.
His branches
shall spread,
and his beauty
shall be
as the olive tree,
and his smell
as Lebanon.
They that
dwell
under his shadow
shall return;
they shall revive
as the corn,
and grow
as the vine:
the scent
thereof shall be
as the wine
of Lebanon.
Ephraim shall say,
What
have
I to do any more
with idols?
I have heard him,
and observed him:
I am like
a green fir tree.
From me is
thy fruit found.
Who is wise,
and
he shall understand
these things?
prudent,
and
he shall know them?
for the ways
of the LORD
are right,
and the just shall walk
in them:
but the transgressors
shall fall therein.