The punishment ¹  of Ephraim has been decreed; ²  his punishment is being stored up for the future.

Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, ¹  but he does not recognize it! His head is filled with gray hair, but he does not realize it!

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

Ephraim will be oppressed, ¹  crushed ²  under judgment, ³  because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. ⁴ 

O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol! My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, ¹  even though they are Israelites!

When Ephraim ¹  spoke, ²  there was terror; ³  he was exalted ⁴  in Israel, but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.

They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery ¹  against their God.

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 

They offer up sacrificial gifts to me, and eat the meat, but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. ¹  Soon he will remember their wrongdoing, he will punish their sins, and they will return to Egypt.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.

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

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.

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.

Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The Lord ¹  will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.

My people are obsessed ¹  with turning away from me; ²  they call to Baal, ³  but he will never exalt them!

Is there idolatry ¹  in Gilead? ²  Certainly its inhabitants ³  will come to nothing! ⁴  Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

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.

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

They turn to Baal; ¹  they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal ²  have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. ³ 

Who is wise? Let him discern ¹  these things! Who is discerning? Let him understand them! For the ways of the Lord are right; the godly walk in them, but in them the rebellious stumble.