English Standard Version ESV
New Living Translation NLT
1 Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.
1
“Sound the alarm! The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the LORD, for they have broken my covenant and revolted against my law.
2 To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you. ”
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Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us, for you are our God!’
3 Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.
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But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them.
4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
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The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction.
5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?
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“O Samaria, I reject this calf— this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will you be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
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This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.
7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.
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“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it.
8 Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel.
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The people of Israel have been swallowed up; they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers.
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Like a wild donkey looking for a mate, they have gone up to Assyria. The people of Israel have sold themselves— sold themselves to many lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute.
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But though they have sold themselves to many allies, I will now gather them together for judgment. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning.
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“Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!
12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.
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Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
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The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.
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Israel has forgotten its Maker and built great palaces, and Judah has fortified its cities. Therefore, I will send down fire on their cities and will burn up their fortresses.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.