The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel
1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
1he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt
2through Baal and died.
2
And now they sin more and more, and
3make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver,
4all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, "Those who offer human sacrifice
5kiss calves!"
3
Therefore they shall be
6like the morning mist or
7like the dew that goes early away,
8like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or
9like smoke from a window.
4
But
10I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt;
11you know no God but me, and
12besides me there is no savior.
5
13It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;
6
14but when they had grazed, they became full,
15they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
16therefore they forgot me.
7
So
17I am to them like a lion;
18like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.