New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the judgment pertains to you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor,
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Give ear to this, O priests; give attention, O Israel, and you, family of the king; for you are to be judged; you have been a deceit at Mizpah and a net stretched out on Tabor.
2 and a pit dug deep in Shittim; but I will punish all of them.
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They have gone deep in the evil ways of Shittim, but I am the judge of all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled.
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I have knowledge of Ephraim, and Israel is not secret from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have been false to me, Israel has become unclean.
4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the Lord.
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Their works will not let them come back to their God, for a false spirit is in them and they have no knowledge of the Lord.
5 Israel's pride testifies against him; Ephraim stumbles in his guilt; Judah also stumbles with them.
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And the pride of Israel gives an answer to his face; and Ephraim will have a fall through his sins, and the fall of Judah will be the same as theirs.
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.
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They will go, with their flocks and their herds, in search of the Lord, but they will not see him; he has taken himself out of their view.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon shall devour them along with their fields.
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They have been false to the Lord; they have given birth to strange children; now the new moon will make them waste with their fields.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; look behind you, Benjamin!
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Let the horn be sounded in Gibeah and in Ramah; give a loud cry in Beth-aven, They are after you, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure.
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Ephraim will become a waste in the day of punishment; I have given knowledge among the tribes of Israel of what is certain.
10 The princes of Judah have become like those who remove the landmark; on them I will pour out my wrath like water.
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The rulers of Judah are like those who take away a landmark; I will let loose my wrath on them like flowing water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after vanity.
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Ephraim is troubled; he is crushed by his judges, because he took pleasure in walking after deceit.
12 Therefore I am like maggots to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah.
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And so to Ephraim I am like a wasting insect, and a destruction to the children of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound.
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When Ephraim saw his disease and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king; but he is not able to make you well or give you help for your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
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For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the children of Judah; I, even I, will give him wounds and go away; I will take him away, and there will be no helper.
15 I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:
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I will go back to my place till they are made waste; in their trouble they will go after me early and will make search for me.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.