| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“When I would have healed Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, And the wickedness of Samaria. For they have committed fraud; A thief comes in; A band of robbers takes spoil outside. | 1whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets. |
| 2They do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded them; They are before My face. | 2They do not realize that I remember all of their wicked deeds. Their evil deeds have now surrounded them; their sinful deeds are always before me. |
| 3They make a king glad with their wickedness, And princes with their lies. | 3The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes, the princes make him glad with their lies. |
| 4“They are all adulterers. Like an oven heated by a baker— He ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough, Until it is leavened. | 4They are all like bakers, they are like a smoldering oven; they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire until the kneaded dough is ready for baking. |
| 5In the day of our king Princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers. | 5At the celebration of their king, his princes become inflamed with wine; they conspire with evildoers. |
| 6They prepare their heart like an oven, While they lie in wait; Their baker sleeps all night; In the morning it burns like a flaming fire. | 6They approach him, all the while plotting against him. Their hearts are like an oven; their anger smolders all night long, but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire. |
| 7They are all hot, like an oven, And have devoured their judges; All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon Me. | 7All of them are blazing like an oven; they devour their rulers. All of their kings fall--and none of them call on me! |
| 8“Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. | 8Ephraim has mixed itself like flour among the nations; Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. |
| 9Aliens have devoured his strength, But he does not know it; Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, Yet he does not know it. | 9Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, but he does not recognize it! His head is filled with gray hair, but he does not realize it! |
| 10And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, But they do not return to the LORD their God, Nor seek Him for all this. | 10The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they refuse to return to the LORD their God! In spite of all this they refuse to seek him! |
| 11“Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense— They call to Egypt, They go to Assyria. | 11Ephraim has been like a dove, easily deceived and lacking discernment. They called to Egypt for help; they turned to Assyria for protection. |
| 12Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them; I will bring them down like birds of the air; I will chastise them According to what their congregation has heard. | 12I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying, I will bring them down like birds in the sky; I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together. |
| 13“Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction to them, Because they have transgressed against Me! Though I redeemed them, Yet they have spoken lies against Me. | 13Woe to them! For they have fled from me! Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me! I want to deliver them, but they have lied to me. |
| 14They did not cry out to Me with their heart When they wailed upon their beds. “They assemble together for grain and new wine, They rebel against Me; | 14They do not pray to me, but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from me. |
| 15Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms, Yet they devise evil against Me; | 15Although I trained and strengthened them, they plot evil against me! |
| 16They return, but not to the Most High; They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword For the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. | 16They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. |
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