| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1When Ephraim spoke, trembling, He exalted himself in Israel; But when he offended through Baal worship, 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 have made for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice 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 shall be like the morning cloud And like the early dew that passes away, Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney. | 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. |
| 4“Yet I am the LORD your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall 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 great drought. | 5I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. |
| 6When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me. | 6But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| 7“So I will be to them like a lion; Like a leopard by the road I will lurk; | 7So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. |
| 8I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage, And there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them. | 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. |
| 9“O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me. | 9“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. |
| 10I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges 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? |
| 11I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath. | 11In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. |
| 12“The 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. |
| 13The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him. He is an unwise son, For he should not stay long where children are born. | 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! |
| 14“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity 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. |
| 15Though he is fruitful among his brethren, An east wind shall come; The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness. Then his spring shall become dry, And his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize. | 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 is held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child 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.” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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. |
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