"Assyriawill not saveus, We will not rideon horses;Norwill we sayagain,Our god,'To the workof our hands;For in You the orphanfindsmercy."
At that timeHananithe seercameto Asakingof Judahand saidto him, "Because you have reliedon the kingof Aramand have not reliedon the LORDyour God,thereforethe armyof the kingof Aramhas escapedout of your hand.
You have seen[it], for You have beheldmischiefand vexationto takeit into Your hand.The unfortunatecommits[himself] to You; You have beenthe helperof the orphan.
Do not trustin princes,In mortalman,in whomthereis nosalvation.
The LORDprotectsthe strangers;He supportsthe fatherlessand the widow,But He thwartsthe wayof the wicked.
A horseis a false hopefor victory;Nordoes it deliveranyone by its greatstrength.
A fatherof the fatherlessand a judgefor the widows,Is Godin His holyhabitation.
Surelyyou will be ashamedof the oakswhichyou have desired,And you will be embarrassedat the gardenswhichyou have chosen.
In that daymenwill castawayto the molesand the batsTheir idolsof silverand their idolsof gold,Whichthey madefor themselves to worship,
Thereforethrough thisJacob'siniquitywill be forgiven;And thiswill be the fullpriceof the pardoningof his sin:When he makesallthe altarstoneslike pulverizedchalkstones;[When] Asherimand incensealtarswill not stand.
And you said,"No,for we will fleeon horses,"Thereforeyou shall flee!"And we will rideon swift[horses]," Thereforethose who pursueyou shall be swift.
Who proceeddownto EgyptWithoutconsultingMe, To takerefugein the safetyof PharaohAnd to seekshelterin the shadowof Egypt!
Woeto those who godownto Egyptfor help[And] relyon horses,And trustin chariotsbecausethey are manyAnd in horsemenbecausethey are verystrong,But they do not lookto the HolyOneof Israel,norseekthe LORD!
Now the Egyptiansare menand not God,And their horsesare fleshand not spirit;So the LORDwill stretchout His hand,And he who helpswill stumbleAnd he who is helpedwill fall,And allof them will cometo an endtogether.
"Nowtherefore, comemakea bargainwith my masterthe kingof Assyria,and I will giveyou two thousandhorses,ifyou are ableon your part to setriderson them.
"Leaveyour orphansbehind,I will keep[them] alive;And let your widowstrustin Me."
"Then I will sprinklecleanwateron you, and you will be clean;I will cleanseyou from allyour filthinessand from allyour idols.
"They will nolongerdefilethemselves with their idols,or with their detestablethings,or with anyof their transgressions;but I will deliverthem from alltheir dwellingplacesin whichthey have sinned,and will cleansethem. And they will be My people,and I will be their God.
Ephraimfeedson wind,And pursuesthe eastwindcontinually;He multipliesliesand violence.Moreover, he makesa covenantwith Assyria,And oilis carriedto Egypt.
And nowthey sinmoreand more,And makefor themselves moltenimages,Idolsskillfullymade from their silver,Allof them the workof craftsmen.They sayof them, "Let the menwho sacrificekissthe calves!"
O Ephraim,whatmorehave I to do with idols?It is I who answerand lookafter you. I am like a luxuriantcypress;From Me comesyour fruit.
"For I will removethe namesof the Baalsfrom her mouth,So that they will be mentionedby their namesnomore.
My peopleconsulttheir woodenidol, and their [diviner's] wandinformsthem; For a spiritof harlotryhas led[them] astray,And they have playedthe harlot,[departing] from their God.
When Ephraimsawhis sickness,And Judahhis wound,Then Ephraimwentto AssyriaAnd sentto KingJareb.But he is unableto healyou, Or to cureyou of your wound.
So Ephraimhas becomelike a sillydove,withoutsense;They callto Egypt,they goto Assyria.
For from Israelis even this!A craftsmanmadeit, so it is not God;Surelythe calfof Samariawill be brokento pieces.
For they have goneup to Assyria,[Like] a wilddonkeyall alone;Ephraimhas hiredlovers.
Then the LORDcommandedthe fish,and it vomitedJonahup ontothe dryland.
"It will comeabout in that day,"declaresthe LORDof hosts,"that I will cutoffthe namesof the idolsfrom the land,and they will nolongerbe remembered;and I will alsoremovethe prophetsand the uncleanspiritfrom the land.
"I will not leaveyou as orphans;I will cometo you.
"Moreover,he shall not multiplyhorsesfor himself, norshall he cause the peopleto returnto Egyptto multiplyhorses,since the LORDhas saidto you, 'You shall neveragainreturnthat way.'
