| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died. | 1When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction. |
| 2Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!” | 2Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands. “Sacrifice to these,” they cry, “and kiss the calf idols!” |
| 3Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window. | 3Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. |
| 4Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me. | 4“I have been the LORD your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. |
| 5I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. | 5I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. |
| 6When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me. | 6But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| 7So like a lion I will pounce on them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. | 7So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. |
| 8Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart. | 8Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal. |
| 9You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper. | 9“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. |
| 10Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? | 10Now where is your king? Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me? |
| 11So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away. | 11In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. |
| 12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is stored up. | 12“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. |
| 13Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb. | 13Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb! |
| 14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes. | 14“Should I ransom them from the grave ? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them. |
| 15Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article. | 15Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the LORD— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. |
| 16Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open. | 16 The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.” |
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