| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1O people of Israel, do not rejoice as other nations do. For you have been unfaithful to your God, hiring yourselves out like prostitutes, worshiping other gods on every threshing floor. | 1Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots' earnings on every threshing floor. |
| 2So now your harvests will be too small to feed you. There will be no grapes for making new wine. | 2Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will fail them. |
| 3You may no longer stay here in the LORD’s land. Instead, you will return to Egypt, and in Assyria you will eat food that is ceremonially unclean. | 3They will not remain in the LORD'S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And in Assyria they will eat unclean food. |
| 4There you will make no offerings of wine to the LORD. None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning. All who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food themselves, but they may not offer it to the LORD. | 4They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD, Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners' bread; All who eat of it will be defiled, For their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of the LORD. |
| 5What then will you do on festival days? How will you observe the LORD’s festivals? | 5What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of the LORD? |
| 6Even if you escape destruction from Assyria, Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver; thistles will invade your ruined homes. | 6For behold, they will go because of destruction; Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take over their treasures of silver; Thorns will be in their tents. |
| 7The time of Israel’s punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!” | 7The days of punishment have come, The days of retribution have come; Let Israel know this! The prophet is a fool, The inspired man is demented, Because of the grossness of your iniquity, And because your hostility is so great. |
| 8The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God, yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God. | 8Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God. |
| 9The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago. God will not forget. He will surely punish them for their sins. | 9They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins. |
| 10The LORD says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped. | 10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved. |
| 11The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will not be born or grow in the womb or even be conceived. | 11As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird-- No birth, no pregnancy and no conception! |
| 12Even if you do have children who grow up, I will take them from you. It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone. | 12Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them! |
| 13I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.” | 13Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter. |
| 14O LORD, what should I request for your people? I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth and breasts that give no milk. | 14Give them, O LORD-- what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. |
| 15The LORD says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels. | 15All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels. |
| 16The people of Israel are struck down. Their roots are dried up, and they will bear no more fruit. And if they give birth, I will slaughter their beloved children.” | 16Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, They will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb. |
| 17My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations. | 17My God will cast them away Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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