They do not pray to me, ¹  but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves ²  for grain and new wine, but turn away from me.

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 

I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities – all her appointed festivals.

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.

The high places of the “House ¹  of Wickedness” ²  will be destroyed; it is the place where Israel sins. Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Then the Lord ¹  said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), because you ²  are not my people and I am not your ³  God.” ⁴ 

All of them are blazing like an oven; they devour their rulers. All of their kings fall – and none of them call on me!

For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, “I will seek out ¹  my lovers; ²  they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. ³ 

“At that time, ¹  I will willingly respond,” ²  declares the Lord. “I will respond to the sky, and the sky ³  will respond to the ground;

Although they bring their flocks and herds ¹  to seek ²  the favor of the Lord, ³  They will not find him – he has withdrawn himself from them!

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

“I will heal their waywardness ¹  and love them freely, ²  for my anger will turn ³  away from them.

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.

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 

Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry ¹  controls their heart, ²  and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit ¹  against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

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!

I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself.

Sound the alarm! ¹  An eagle ²  looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, ³  and have rebelled against my law.

The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to ¹  your wife ²  again, even though she loves ³  another man ⁴  and continually commits adultery. ⁵  Likewise, the Lord loves ⁶  the Israelites ⁷  although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” ⁸