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 

Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with ¹  another man, and I also will wait for you.”

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.

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

I will deal with the people and priests together: ¹  I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.

Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him!

Return to the Lord and repent! ¹  Say to him: “Completely ²  forgive our iniquity; accept ³  our penitential prayer, ⁴  that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. ⁵ 

But the more I summoned ¹  them, the farther they departed from me. ²  They sacrificed to the Baal idols and burned incense to images.

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

The time of judgment ¹  is about to arrive! ²  The time of retribution ³  is imminent! ⁴  Let Israel know! ⁵ The prophet is considered a fool ⁶  – the inspired man ⁷  is viewed as a madman ⁸  – because of the multitude of your sins and your intense ⁹  animosity.

“Come on! Let’s return to the Lord! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured ¹  us, but he will bandage our wounds!

Even if they raise their children, I will take away every last one of them. ¹  Woe to them! For I will turn away from them.

“At that time ¹  I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish ²  the warrior’s bow and sword – that is, every weapon of warfare ³  – from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.” ⁴ 

Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. ¹  As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars.

The inhabitants ¹  of Samaria will lament ²  over the calf idol ³  of Beth Aven. ⁴  Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail ⁵  over it, ⁶  because its splendor will be taken from them ⁷  into exile.

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.

Soon ¹  I will expose her lewd nakedness ²  in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me! ³ 

There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. ¹ 

The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned ¹  their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!

They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!