They do not pray to me, but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from me.

I led them with leather cords, with leather ropes; I lifted the yoke from their neck, and gently fed them.

Samaria and its king will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the waters.

When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me!

So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.

They utter empty words, taking false oaths and making empty agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field.

Yet it was I who led Ephraim, I took them by the arm; but they did not acknowledge that I had healed them.

My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!

They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.

The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets.”

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.

They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.

Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law.

O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly like the nations, for you are unfaithful to your God. You love to receive a prostitute's wages on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

The time of judgment is about to arrive! The time of retribution is imminent! Let Israel know!The prophet is considered a fool – the inspired man is viewed as a madman – because of the multitude of your sins and your intense animosity.

The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim on behalf of God, yet traps are laid for him along all of his paths; animosity rages against him in the land of his God.