Therefore, I will soon ¹  fence her in ²  with thorns; I will wall her in ³  so that ⁴  she cannot find her way. ⁵ 

Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. ¹  The wild animals, ²  the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.

They ¹  utter empty words, ²  taking ³  false oaths and making empty ⁴  agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds ⁵  in the furrows of a plowed field.

Therefore, I will certainly cut ¹  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ²  I will certainly kill you ³  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ⁴  for ⁵  my judgment ⁶  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ⁷ 

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.

Therefore, I will take back ¹  my grain during the harvest time ²  and my new wine when it ripens; ³  I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided ⁴  in order to clothe her. ⁵ 

But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior.

However, in the future I will allure her; ¹  I will lead ²  her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

When they were fed, ¹  they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; ²  as a result, they forgot me!

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

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice ¹  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!

The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated ¹  Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

That idol was made by a workman – it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

But you must return ¹  to your God, by maintaining love and justice, and by waiting ²  for your God to return to you. ³ 

The arrogance of Israel testifies against it; Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown ¹  because ²  of their iniquity. Even Judah will be brought down ³  with them.

But Ephraim bitterly ¹  provoked him to anger; so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, ²  his Lord ³  will repay him for the contempt he has shown. ⁴ 

You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people! ¹ 

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

I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots, they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true: ¹  “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”

They enthroned kings without my consent! ¹  They appointed princes without my approval! ²  They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed! ³