<p class="poetry">Samaria and its king will be carried off<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">like a twig<n id="2" /> on the surface of the waters.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Even though he flourishes like a reed plant,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a scorching east wind will come,p> <p class="poetry">a wind from the <sc>Lordsc> rising up from the desert.p> <p class="poetry">As a result, his spring will dry up;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">his well will become dry.p> <p class="poetry">That wind<n id="3" /> will spoil all his delightful foodsp> <p class="poetry">in the containers in his storehouse.p>

<p class="poetry">A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings;p> <p class="poetry">they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">They are all like bakers,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they<n id="2" /> are like a smoldering oven;p> <p class="poetry">they are like a baker who does not stoke the firep> <p class="poetry">until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Ephraim has mixed itself like flour<n id="1" /> among the nations;p> <p class="poetry">Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Ephraim will be like a bird;p> <p class="poetry">what they value<n id="1" /> will fly away.p> <p class="poetry">They will not bear children &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">they will not enjoy pregnancy &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">they will not even conceive!<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Ephraim has been like a dove,p> <p class="poetry">easily deceived and lacking discernment.p> <p class="poetry">They called to Egypt for help;p> <p class="poetry">they turned to Assyria for protection.p>

<p class="poetry">I have appointed a time to reap judgment<n id="1" /> for you also, O Judah!p><t /><p class="poetry">Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people,<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">He will roar like a lion,p> <p class="poetry">and they will follow the <sc>Lordsc>;p> <p class="poetry">when he roars,p> <p class="poetry">his children will come trembling<n id="1" /> from the west.p>

<p class="poetry">The labor pains of a woman will overtake him,p> <p class="poetry">but the baby will lack wisdom;p> <p class="poetry">when the time arrives,p> <p class="poetry">he will not come out of the womb!p>

For the Israelites<n id="1" /> must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols.

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> also has a covenant lawsuit<n id="1" /> against Judah;p> <p class="poetry">he will punish Jacob according to his waysp> <p class="poetry">and repay him according to his deeds.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.p> <p class="poetry">I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood!<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">That idol was made by a workman &#8211; it is not God!p> <p class="poetry">The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.p>

<p class="poetry">His young shoots will grow;p> <p class="poetry">his splendor will be like an olive tree,p> <p class="poetry">his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Very soon they will say, &#8220;We have no kingp> <p class="poetry">since we did not fear the <sc>Lordsc>.p> <p class="poetry">But what can a king do for us anyway?&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">They<n id="1" /> utter empty words,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">taking<n id="3" /> false oaths and making empty<n id="4" /> agreements.p> <p class="poetry">Therefore legal disputes sprout upp> <p class="poetry">like poisonous weeds<n id="5" /> in the furrows of a plowed field.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Israel was a fertile vinep> <p class="poetry">that yielded fruit.p> <p class="poetry">As his fruit multiplied,p> <p class="poetry">he multiplied altars to Baal.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">As his land prospered,p> <p class="poetry">they adorned the fertility pillars.p>

<p class="poetry">When they were fed,<n id="1" /> they became satisfied;p> <p class="poetry">when they were satisfied, they became proud;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">as a result, they forgot me!p>

<p class="poetry">Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God;p> <p class="poetry">because a spirit of idolatry<n id="1" /> controls their heart,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and they do not acknowledge the <sc>Lordsc>.p>