I will be like a moth to Ephraim, like wood rot ¹  to the house of Judah.

I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily, he will send down his roots like a cedar of ¹  Lebanon.

Therefore they will disappear like ¹  the morning mist, ²  like early morning dew that evaporates, ³  like chaff that is blown away ⁴  from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window.

So ¹  I will pounce on them like a lion; ²  like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

His young shoots will grow; his splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers. I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! ¹ 

Israel has rebelled ¹  like a stubborn heifer! Soon ²  the Lord will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field! ³ 

They will return in fear and trembling ¹  like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.

I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart.

People will reside again ¹  in his shade; they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. ²  They will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

They are all like bakers, ¹  they ²  are like a smoldering oven; they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.

Samaria and its king will be carried off ¹  like a twig ²  on the surface of the waters.

I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear them to pieces, then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!

Ephraim has been like a dove, easily deceived and lacking discernment. They called to Egypt for help; they turned to Assyria for protection.

Ephraim will be like a bird; what they value ¹  will fly away. They will not bear children – they will not enjoy pregnancy – they will not even conceive! ² 

Israel will be swallowed up among the nations; they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.

They have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey that wanders off. Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers. ¹ 

Ephraim has mixed itself like flour ¹  among the nations; Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. ² 

They approach him, all the while plotting against him. Their hearts are like an oven; their anger smolders all night long, but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.

He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling ¹  from the west.