When I would heal Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they work falsehood; The thief enters in; Raiders ransack outside,
Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine!
Transgressing and denying Yahweh, And turning back from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Forsake her and let us each go to his own country, For her judgment has touched heaven And lifts up to the very skies.
Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.
Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
“In your uncleanness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are not clean; You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness again Until I have caused My wrath against you to be at rest.
The dweller of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has gone into exile from them.
¶How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I give you over to be like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are stirred.
Ephraim feeds on wind And pursues the east wind continually; He abounds in falsehood and destruction. Moreover, he cuts a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt.
Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you, For you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out on Tabor.
¶What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your lovingkindness is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.
Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have transgressed against Me! And I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.
Make it heard on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Gather yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great confusions within her and the oppressions in her midst.
“As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria, Who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’ And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’ They will fall and not rise again.”
“The statutes of Omri And all the works of the house of Ahab are kept; And in their counsels you walk. Therefore I will give you up as an object of horror And your inhabitants as an object of hissing, And you will bear the reproach of My people.”
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you did not want it!