The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, even if Moses and Samuel were here to pray for the people of Judah, I would not feel sorry for them. Send the people of Judah away from me! Tell them to go!
Samaria must be punished because she turned against her God. The Israelites will be killed with swords. Their children will be torn to pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
Terrible things happened to the people of Jerusalem and Judah because the Lord was angry with them. Finally, he threw them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
until the Lord took Israel away from his sight. And he said this would happen. He sent his prophets to tell the people this would happen. So the Israelites were taken out of their country into Assyria. And they have been there to this day.
Ephraim is wasting its time; Israel “chases the wind” all day long. The people tell more and more lies and steal more and more. They have made agreements with Assyria, and they are carrying their olive oil to Egypt.
The Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, because soon I will punish the family of Jehu for the people he killed at Jezreel Valley. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of the nation of Israel.
But you called my message a heavy load, so I will pick you up like a heavy load and throw you away from me. I gave the city of Jerusalem to your ancestors. But I will throw you and that city away from me,
Israel was unfaithful, and she knew why I sent her away. Israel knew that I divorced her because she committed the sin of adultery. But that did not make her unfaithful sister afraid. Judah was not afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute.
Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had moved from the country of Israel to live in the country of Judah. A great many of these people came to Judah because they saw that the Lord, Asa’s God, was with him.
The tribe of Ephraim was counted. (Ephraim was Joseph’s son.) The names of all the men who were 20 years old or older and able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed with their families and family groups.
“The sound of loud crying is heard from Zion: ‘We are really ruined! We are so ashamed! We must leave our land, because our houses have been destroyed. Now our houses are only piles of rock.’”
“The people of Judah, or a prophet, or a priest may ask you, ‘Jeremiah, what is the announcement of the Lord?’ You will answer them and say, ‘You are a heavy load, and I will throw down this heavy load.’ This message is from the Lord.
“You must tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood still in it. You look to your idols for help. You murder people, so why should I give you this land?