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    and to heal its wounds.
But then I see the crimes
    in Israel[a] and Samaria.
Everyone is deceitful;
    robbers roam the streets.
No one realizes
that I have seen their sins
    surround them like a flood.

The king and his officials
take great pleasure
    in their sin and deceit.
Everyone burns with desire—
they are like coals in an oven,
    ready to burst into flames.
On the day their king
    was crowned,
his officials got him drunk,
and he joined
    in their foolishness.[b]

Their anger is a fire
that smolders all night,
    then flares up at dawn.
They are flames
    destroying their leaders.
And their kings are powerless;
    none of them trust me.

The people of Israel[c]
    have mixed with foreigners;
they are a thin piece of bread
    scorched on one side.
They don't seem to realize
    how weak and feeble they are;
their hair has turned gray,
    while foreigners rule.
10 I am the Lord, their God,
    but in all of their troubles
their pride keeps them
    from returning to me.

No Help from Foreign Nations

The Lord said:

11 Israel[d] is a senseless bird,
fluttering back and forth
    between Egypt and Assyria.
12 But I will catch them in a net
    as hunters trap birds;
I threatened to punish them,
    and indeed I will.[e]
13 Trouble and destruction
will be their reward
    for rejecting me.
I would have rescued them,
    but they told me lies.

14 They don't really pray to me;
    they just howl in their beds.
They have rejected me for Baal
    and slashed themselves,[f]
in the hope that Baal
    will bless their crops.
15 I taught them what they know,
    and I made them strong.
Now they plot against me
16     and refuse to obey.[g]
They are more useless
    than a crooked arrow.
Their leaders will die in war
    for saying foolish things.
Egyptians will laugh at them.

Footnotes

  1. 7.1 Israel: See the note at 4.17. Samaria was the capital city of Israel.
  2. 7.5 foolishness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
  3. 7.8 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
  4. 7.11 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
  5. 7.12 I threatened … will: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 7.14 slashed themselves: One ancient translation and some Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “gather together.” Slashing themselves was one way of worshiping Baal (see 1 Kings 18.28).
  7. 7.16 and … obey: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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