1  When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

^bhe was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt ^cthrough Baal and died.

2  And now they sin more and more,

and ^dmake for themselves metal images,

idols skillfully made of their silver,

^eall of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of them,

“Those who offer human sacrifice ^fkiss calves!”

3  Therefore they shall be ^glike the morning mist

or ^glike the dew that goes early away,

^hlike the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

or ⁱlike smoke from a window.

4  But ^jI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

^kyou know no God but me,

and ^lbesides me there is no savior.

5  ^mIt was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

6  ⁿbut when they had grazed,¹ they became full,

^othey were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

^otherefore they forgot me.

7  So ^pI am to them like a lion;

^qlike a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

8  I will fall upon them ^rlike a bear robbed of her cubs;

I will tear open their breast,

and there I will devour them like a lion,

^sas a wild beast would rip them open.

9  He destroys² you, O Israel,

for you are against me, against ^tyour helper.

10  ^uWhere now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

Where are all your rulers—

those of whom ^vyou said,

“Give me a king and princes”?

11  ^wI gave you a king in my anger,

and ^xI took him away in my wrath.

12  The iniquity of Ephraim is ^ybound up;

his sin is ^ykept in store.

13  ^zThe pangs of childbirth come for him,

but he is an unwise son,

for at the right time he does not present himself

^aat the opening of the womb.

14  ^bI shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

^bI shall redeem them from Death.³

^cO ^dDeath, where are your plagues?

^cO ^dSheol, where is your sting?

^eCompassion is hidden from my eyes.

15  Though ^fhe may flourish among his brothers,

^gthe east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,

rising from the wilderness,

^hand his fountain shall dry up;

his spring shall be parched;

it shall strip ⁱhis treasury

of every precious thing.

16  ⁴ Samaria ^jshall bear her guilt,

because ^kshe has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

^ltheir little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

and their ^mpregnant women ripped open.

1  ⁿReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for ^oyou have stumbled because of your iniquity.

2  Take with you words

and return to the Lord;

say to him,

“Take away all iniquity;

accept ^pwhat is good,

and we will pay with bulls

^qthe vows⁵ of our lips.

3  ^rAssyria shall not save us;

^swe will not ride on horses;

and ^twe will say no more, ‘Our God,’

to the work of our hands.

^uIn you the orphan finds mercy.”

4  I ^vwill heal their apostasy;

^wI will love them freely,

for my anger has turned from them.

5  ^xI will be like the dew to Israel;

^yhe shall blossom like the lily;

he shall take root like the trees ^zof Lebanon;

6  his shoots shall spread out;

his beauty shall be ^alike the olive,

and his fragrance like Lebanon.

7  They shall return and ^bdwell beneath my⁶ shadow;

they shall flourish like the grain;

they shall blossom like the vine;

their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8  O ^cEphraim, what have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.⁷

I am like an evergreen cypress;

^dfrom me comes your fruit.

9  ^eWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;

whoever is discerning, let him know them;

for the ways of the Lord are right,

and ^fthe upright walk in them,

^fbut transgressors stumble in them.

1  ^qVindicate me, O Lord,

for I have ^rwalked in my integrity,

and I have ^strusted in the Lord without wavering.

2  ^tProve me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and ^umy mind.¹

3  For your ^vsteadfast love is before my eyes,

and I ^wwalk in your ^vfaithfulness.

4  I do not ^xsit with men of ^yfalsehood,

nor do I consort with hypocrites.

5  I ^zhate the assembly of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.

6  I ^awash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,

7  proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,

and telling all your ^bwondrous deeds.

8  O Lord, I ^clove the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells.

9  ^dDo not sweep my soul away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

10  in whose hands are evil devices,

and whose right hands are full of ^ebribes.

11  But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

12  My foot stands on ^flevel ground;

in ^gthe great assembly I will bless the Lord.