“Suppose there isn’t enough food in the land. And a plague strikes the land. The hot winds completely dry up our crops. Or locusts or grasshoppers come and eat them up. Or an enemy surrounds one of our cities and gets ready to attack it. Or trouble or sickness comes.
No one knows when trouble will come to them. Fish are caught in nets. Birds are taken in traps. And people are trapped by hard times that come when they don’t expect them.
People of Ephraim, the prophet, along with my God, is warning you of danger. But you set traps for him everywhere he goes. You hate him so much you even wait for him in God’s house.
People who want to get rich are tempted. They fall into a trap. They are tripped up by wanting many foolish and harmful things. Those who live like that are dragged down by what they do. They are destroyed and die.